Some professional sports face more COVID restrictions, vaccine mandates as cases rise

With COVID cases on the rise once again, we’ve seen a lot of changes – mask mandates are back, vaccine requirements are in place, and the sports world looks like it’ll continue to see some shake-ups too.

WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - With COVID cases on the rise once again, we’ve seen a lot of changes – mask mandates are back, vaccine requirements are in place, and the sports world looks like it’ll continue to see some shake-ups too.

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Just in the past few days, the Washington Nationals lost a front office employee and two scouts because of a new vaccine policy, reports surfaced that unvaccinated NBA players in some markets may not be able to enter arenas, and an NFL coach came under fire for saying he considered whether players were vaccinated when making roster cuts.

The examples go on and on.

"Where it looked as if we were on our way out of this, we’re not," ESPN 630’s Andy Pollin said. "In many ways, it’s going to be more difficult to navigate it than it was last year because they have protocols for separating everybody, and the penalties this year are more severe."

For instance, Pollin said, the NFL has already warned teams that if they have an outbreak among unvaccinated players, they’ll have to forfeit.

"I feel like they’re looking out for the fans and making us feel safe, and I appreciate that a lot," Swarna Ghanta said outside of Nationals Park Thursday, echoing a sentiment FOX 5 heard from fan after fan.

"It is very important that we all try to stay safe and do what we got to do necessary [for] community safe," added Justin Covington.

It is important to note, however, that many professional athletes feel differently. Quite a few have said they believe current COVID protocols are unfair.