Cole Beasley’s at it again.
The Buffalo Bills’ slot receiver took to social media Monday morning following a 40-0 victory over the Houston Texans to accuse home fans of booing him during the game.
Beasley, who had two catches for 16 yards in the win, (again) broke his self-imposed Twitter ban during the regular season to not only question Bills fans, but also question the Covid-19 vaccine (again).
The tweet: “Only place I get boo’d is at our home stadium. Then some of the same people want me to take pictures and sign autographs. I thought bills fans were the best in the world? Where’d they go? If the vaccine works then why do vaxxed people need to be protected from unvaxxed? #letemin”
Let’s work through this piece by piece.
Beasley’s claim that he is being booed at Highmark Stadium was met with plenty of pushback by fans on social media, most of whom claim that it’s not “boo” he’s hearing, but rather a drawn-out “Bease,” similar to the sound fans used to make for Bruce Smith. Beasley later acknowledged that some fans are saying "Bease," but he noted there were fans behind the team's bench who were yelling at him to get vaccinated.
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So let’s take Beasley at his word and concede some fans maybe are booing him. Should that come as a huge surprise? He’s in a stadium packed with 68,087 fans – all of whom have at least started their vaccination process. Or, they are at least supposed to have. It’s a good bet there are some fans who made it in who haven’t been vaccinated. Nevertheless, if 60-something thousand people have decided getting vaccinated is the right choice from them, it stands to reason that at least some of them may take issue with Beasley’s frequent posts questioning the vaccine.
The question he asked Monday is one that has been answered by countless health experts. But once more, here is an answer, provided directly from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website: “Right now, most cases of Covid-19 are in people who are not fully vaccinated. Although Covid-19 vaccines currently appear very effective against severe disease and death, no vaccine is perfect. Some people who are fully vaccinated will still get Covid-19; these are called vaccine breakthrough cases. Some evidence shows that vaccination may make illness less severe for those who still get sick. This includes people aged 65 years and older, who are at higher risk of severe Covid-19 illness.”
Beasley’s unwillingness to either accept, or understand, that is one thing. It’s quite another that he continues to tweet through it for all the world to read. By now, everyone knows Beasley is dug in. For whatever his reason might be, he’s not going to get vaccinated, which is his choice.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban engaged Beasley in a series of responses to the original tweet.
"Bease, the problem isn't so much your choice as it is your logic," Cuban tweeted. "You know the rules that apply to your choice, and that is yours to make. But the examples you give as the basis for why you make your choice are questionable."
Beasley responded: "I didn’t get it cause I do not need it. What other explanation do you need? The fact that I need to explain any reason for my own choice is the problem. That’s the whole point. The risks are not the same for everyone."
Cuban said the businesses have a "100% right" to make decisions for their employees just as Beasley has a "100%" right to make his own choice. Beasley argued that a mandate takes away that choice and the narrative is that players who won't get vaccinated are being selfish.
It’s hard to figure what the upside is here. For as dug in as he is in his beliefs, so too is the NFL in its protocols for vaccinated and unvaccinated players. So too is the team, which implemented its current vaccination policy last month, one that requires all fans inside Highmark Stadium to be fully vaccinated by the Oct. 31 home game against Miami.
Nothing is going to change on either side, so tweeting about it is simply an unwelcome distraction. General Manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott must be beside themselves. Both of them have made it clear they believe it is in the best interest of both players and the team as a whole to be vaccinated.
McDermott was asked on two separate occasions Monday about Beasley's comments, but deflected both times.
"We're in Week 5 of this season, respectfully here, guys, and I'm not going to get into vaccination status, and this and that," he said. "I'm here to coach football and our team's here to play football. That's what we're here to do. Our fans' support is, to me, unmatched around the NFL. I can't say enough about it. It's a great environment, and the way we travel, as well, is unmatched throughout the NFL."
It's understandable that McDermott tried his best to steer clear of the conversation as much as possible. His No. 1 priority during the season is limiting distractions surrounding his team.
Beasley isn’t alone among players on the roster in not taking the advice of the head coach and getting vaccinated. None of the other unvaccinated players, however, are creating a distraction about it by calling out the franchise’s fans.
The Bills are 3-1. They have absolutely demolished their last three opponents. The biggest game of their season is coming up against their nemesis. The last thing they need is their slot receiver spending his Monday morning openly insulting their fans on social media.
