Tretter: NFL season in jeopardy

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Browns center and NFLPA President J.C. Tretter lashed out at the NFL on Tuesday, voicing concerns that the league isn’t taking the issue of player safety seriously enough, and warning that forcing players to kick off training camps too early, and scheduling two preseason games, could affect the regular season.

Concerning the NFL’s desire for two preseason games, Tretter wrote in a blog post: With no medical reason provided for holding any preseason games and the desire to follow the Joint Committee’s recommendations, the NFLPA Board of Player Representatives unanimously voted against any preseason games this season.

Tretter also wrote: Every decision this year that prioritizes normalcy over innovation, custom over science or even football over health, significantly reduces our chances of completing the full season.

We don’t want to merely return to work and have the season shut down before we even get started. The NFLPA will do its part to advocate for player safety. We will continue to hold the NFL accountable and demand that the league use data, science and the recommendations of its own medical experts to make decisions. It has been clear for months that we need to find a way to fit football inside the world of coronavirus. Making decisions outside that lens is both dangerous and irresponsible.

Training camps around the league are scheduled to open July 28 for most players, but Tretter believes the NFL must adjust, and have a better plan during this pandemic: Like many other industries, football’s resistance to change is based on the belief that the best way to run things is the way we’ve always run things. That pervasive thought process will stop this season in its tracks.

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