Chiefs veteran player calls out the NFL for hypocritical practices regarding its most important policy
When the Kansas City Chiefs host the Houston Texans on Saturday, it will be game two of three that they will play in an 11-day span. On just three days rest, the Chiefs will go on the road to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers on Christmas Day. That is a very daunting task, especially this […]
When the Kansas City Chiefs host the Houston Texans on Saturday, it will be game two of three that they will play in an 11-day span.
On just three days rest, the Chiefs will go on the road to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers on Christmas Day. That is a very daunting task, especially this late into the season, as players are beat up physically and are nursing several injuries.
The Texans, Steelers, and Baltimore Ravens – all of whom will likely make the postseason – are also faced with this challenge. This stems from the NFL's desire to feature games on Christmas, even with the holiday falling on a Wednesday.
While speaking to the media on Thursday, Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who's been in the NFL for 12 years, stated that he has never played this many games in such a short timespan, and that the league should re-evaluate their scheduling decision after the season for player safety concerns.
"I've never played this many games in a short amount of time," Hopkins said. "I think the league should definitely do something about that. If that's giving a team some kind of mini bye-week somewhere or something down the line. But, I feel like as they preach player safety, I don't feel like this is the best situation for any team to play three games in this amount of days. So, I feel like the league should definitely try to review that after the season, you know, to see how it can help players safety in the future."
Despite how the NFL may try to spin it, this is a case of business winning out over player safety. The league tries to sell that safety is it's top priority, but always reveals it's true nature with decisions such as these. As the NFL continues to fine players absurd amounts of money and make rule changes in the name of player safety, it is essentially telling players to suck it up when it comes to scheduling so it can benefit financially.
