Stefan Vatsis, Josh Levine and Ben Matisse Lilly of Slate have spoken out about the COVID outbreak in every sports league, once again. Next, they discussed the end of Urban Meyer’s very short career as an NFL coach. Finally, Joshua Newman joined Stefan and Josh for a chat about Kenny Washington, who broke the NFL color barrier a year before Jackie Robinson broke the Major League Baseball barrier.
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• Follow Ben Mathis Lilly on Twitter.
• The test results of hundreds of athletes proved positive, and dozens of games were postponed, as the omicron variable swept the sports games.
• Chico Harlan’s story in the Washington Post about the epidemic in Denmark.
• The NFL has relaxed COVID testing rules to allow asymptomatic players to play games.
• After saying he would not be allowed to play for the team while he was not vaccinated, the Brooklyn Nets brought back star guard Kyrie Irving, who immediately entered NBA protocols for the coronavirus.
• A large number of positive cases has caused chaos in the Premier League at the busiest time of the season.
• Alex Kirchner of Slate writes that Urban Meyer, who was fired after only 13 games as the Jacksonville Jaguars coach, “was never built to train professional athletes.”
• Former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo said Mayer called him a “dipshit” and kicked him in the leg.
• Read the timeline of Mayer’s problems in Jacksonville.
• In an interview with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Mayer blamed anything but himself for his downfall.
• Follow Joshua Newman on Twitter And his cover story in Slate read, “Why isn’t Kenny Washington an American icon?”
Disconnect and listen weekly Christopher Grother:
Christopher Grother Stefan: Scorigami, the art of a unique NFL game score, has exploded with obsessed fans, popular bot, mainstream media attention, and even the T-shirt.
In this week’s bonus section, Stefan, Josh and Ben discuss why some soccer coaches have been able to change while Urban Meyer hasn’t.
Podcast production and editing by Kevin Bendis.
You can email us at hangup@slate.com.