Monday night’s broadcast of the Las Vegas Raiders’ 34-24 victory over the New Orleans Saints showed that Jon Gruden wore his mask several times, and the Raiders’ head coach apologized for his lack of vigilance and revealed he had COVID-19 in the offseed. .
“I’m doing my highest productivity,” he said, according to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN. “I had the virus. I’m doing as productive as I can. I am very sensitive about it . . . I call plays, I just need to do it under those conditions and if I’m fined, I’ll have to pay them very well, but I’m very susceptible to it and I apologize. “
Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune noted that Gruden said he had COVID-19 in mid-July and did not plan to reveal so many “irritated by other people who said he had faked it. “
In August, Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reported that Raiders assistant coach Rich Bisaccia had tried to emphasize the importance of taking the pandemic seriously “making the players Gruden have a coronavirus. “
The fact that Gruden apologized for not dressing up in his mask is notable given that ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the NFL’s Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan each had $100,000 for not dressing up in his uniform. mask on Sunday’s list.
In addition, each team was fined $250,000 more.
“I have to do a bigger job of keeping my mask on my face,” Gruden said after Gutierrez’s Week 1 win over the Carolina Panthers. “It was hot . . . I have to do a bigger task. “
Comments were also notable as NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent sent a note after Week 1 emphasizing the importance of dressing up in a mask on the sidelines.
“Failure to comply with this requirement will result in the imposition of liability measures against Americans and/or infringing clubs,” the memo says. “The mask should be used as designed to fit securely over the user’s nose and mouth to prevent transmission of the virus. “
On the court, the Raiders’ offense had few problems with New Orleans, as Derek Carr hit 11 other pins on his way to 282 yards and three touchdowns in the air. Las Vegas is 2-0 and will seek momentum in Week 3 against the New England Patriots.