October 10, 2020 | 4:11 PM
Patriots cornerback Jason McCourty said it’s up to the players, coaches, administration, and staff to take care of one another to make sure everyone is OK physically and mentally, because the National Football League won’t do that for them.
“I think outside of here, the people that don’t have to walk in our building, whether it is the league office, whether it is the NFLPA, they don’t care,” McCourty said on a video call Saturday.
He said the league’s priority is making protocols that sound good and lead to games being played. The Patriots, McCourty said, are doing everything they can to make sure everyone is safe. He said it’s clear prioritizing player safety is “not a league-wide thing,” but rather “a team thing,” and he’s proud of the way the team has responded.
“Even today while we were in, we’re totally distanced, we all have masks on, we all have the Oakley shields on, and we have a mask on underneath our helmet,” McCourty said. “We weren’t in the building, really, at all today. So we’re doing the necessary things to stay as safe as possible.”
He said that going to Kansas City to face the Chiefs in Week 4 didn’t add up with the incubation period after Cam Newton tested positive for COVID-19 and that there was great risk involved going to play.
Jason McCourty with a strong statement towards the NFL on their Covid protocols.
“They don’t care”@McCourtyTwins @NFL @Patriots pic.twitter.com/ENGbNNehg5— Joe Kayata (@NBC10_Joe) October 10, 2020
McCourty said that if at any given moment, he felt like it was in his family’s best interest not to play, he’d stop playing. In the meantime, he’s made a commitment that he plans to honor unless it’s not safe to do so.
“You’ve just got to hope and pray that we’re able to stay on the right track and that we’re just doing the right things,” McCourty said, “and when stuff does come up like what we’re going through now, we’re able to make the right decisions to keep everything on the right track.”
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