During the New Orleans Saints vs. Las Vegas Raiders "Monday Night Football" game, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers along with their head coaches were fined for not wearing masks during games on Sunday. Pete Carroll, Vic Fangio and Kyle Shanahan were fined $100,000, and the teams were fined an additional $250,000. Apparently Jon Gruden and Sean Payton did not realize how high the fines would be for breaching mask protocol while on the sidelines last night, as they have now both been fined by the league. On Tuesday afternoon, Schefter reported that Gruden and Payton along with the Raiders and Saints have been fined the same amounts due to their failure to wear masks.
These fines come a week after Troy Vincent, the NFL's executive VP of football operations, sent a strongly worded memo to all 32 teams reminding them of the importance of wearing face coverings during games. This season, any non-player in the "bench area," which is defined as each sideline between the 30-yard lines, is required to wear a mask at all times.
"We must remain vigilant and disciplined in following the processes and protocols put in place by not only the league, union and clubs, but also by state and local governments," the memo read. "Failure to adhere to this requirement will result in accountability measures being imposed against offending individuals and/or clubs ... Becoming careless or ignoring face covering and physical distancing requirements will put the 2020 season at risk."
Gruden was seen sporting his mask below the chin several times during the Raiders' 34-24 victory over the Saints, and some even anticipated a fine would come.
Someone please tell Jon Gruden to be sitting down when he checks his email tonight. 💸 pic.twitter.com/nn5jMSTQ5o
— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) September 22, 2020
After this first wave of fines, you better believe all 32 NFL head coaches will be more vigilant if they as well as their staffs are wearing their masks at all times.
