Former Cowboys WR Cole Beasley would rather retire before he gets the COVID vaccine; do you agree with this stance?

Wide receiver Cole Beasley no longer plays for the Dallas Cowboys, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have our attention. The team's former slot receiver took to Twitter recently to voice his opinion on how the NFL Players Association is treating unvaccinated players compared to those who have received the COVID-19 vaccine. Here is what Beasley had to say...

Cole's words were met with quite a bit of pushback as his followers didn't shy away of voicing their displeasure for his sentiments, including yours truly as I shared my two cents on the issue. Of course, my own tweets were met with it's own criticism as this is a very sensitive topic that has divided a lot of people in our country. Currently, over six-hundred thousand Americans have lost their lives to the virus and while more and more people have been vaccinated, there are still a lot of restrictions in place in effort to eradicate this virus.

What Beasley is upset about is different rules in place for the COVID-19 protocols as it pertains to vaccinated/unvaccinated players. In particular, players who have been vaccinated are now allowed to go out in public to high-risk places, whereas unvaccinated players are not. They also include a different set of rules for quarantine, COVID tests, and limits on the amount of people they can be around. Unvaccinated players who don't adhere to those rules will be fined up to $50,000.

It can be a little puzzling why players would even challenge these restrictions versus just getting vaccinated so their team can move forward with the new season with as few challenges as possible, but here we are. As we've seen from our society in general, we all don't have the same view of things. Some people have no plans to get the vaccine and Beasley is one of those people.

In Beasley's statement he says, "If I'm forced into retirement, so be it." He also goes on to say, " A lot of other NFL players hold my position as well but aren’t in the right place in their careers to be so outspoken."

Cole is 32 years old and has played in the league for nine seasons. He also has over $32 million in career football earnings, so his 2021 base salary of $4.7 million doesn't have as much financial influence as other players who are in different circumstances. So, Beasley makes a good point as there could be other players who feel like he does, but are biting their tongue.

From a general population perspective, Beasley is a young and healthy individual who feels safe amidst the COVID pandemic. The chances of him dying are far less riskier than older individuals or those with underlying health conditions. But is Beasley's stance promoting a behavior that would be not good if more people balked at the idea of getting vaccinated?

"I may die of covid, but I’d rather die actually living," Beasley said, and he shares a view that many have. Some aren't willing to be controlled and change their lifestyle. And certainly those who are comfortable taking on that risk are free to do what they want, but the big issue is - this decision also puts other people at risk.

I respect people's individual choice on whether they decide to get vaccinated. Everyone's health situation is unique to them. Having said that, too many people are choosing not to be vaccinated for the wrong reasons. In an overwhelming majority of cases, the risks of not getting vaccinated significantly exceed the dangers associated with its side effects. People who aren't vaccinated still pose a risk to some who are (i.e. elderly with underlying health conditions), so their decision doesn't just affect them. We should be respectful to all, but we also need to do our best to ensure the safety of our neighbors so we can get this country back to the normalcy we can all enjoy again.

Beasley doesn't seem to care much about others as the choice he is making is only centered around himself. Yes, that's his right, but this comes across as selfish. Furthermore, using his platform to promote this type of behavior is dangerous. If everyone took that approach, this would inevitably result in more lives being lost.

Do you have a problem with Cole taking to social media to share his view on this issue? Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what you think.

Cole Beasley infuriated with NFL's 'crazy' new COVID-19 policies@nypost / Twitter

Follow me to see more articles like this.

...

Follow

This is original content from NewsBreak’s Creator Program. Join today to publish and share your own content.