Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard took a hard stance against players who are not vaccinated against COVID-19, stating that any Colt player who is unvaccinated with face “consequences”.
Ballard spoke on Wednesday in the wake of quarterback Carson Wentz, center Ryan Kelly and wide receiver Zach Pascal being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday after coming in close contact with a Colts staff member who tested positive.
“There’s consequences to not being vaccinated,” Ballard said, according to ESPN’s Mike Wells. “Do I think everybody should be vaccinated? Absolutely. I’m for the vaccine. [Coach] Frank [Reich] is for the vaccine. We have a lot of guys on our team who are for the vaccine. Is it 100% perfect? No. But it’s a good thing.
“It can help you from ending up in the hospital in a critical situation. And it helps stop some of the spread, and those are positive things. But for the guys who have chosen to not get vaccinated, they still understand they’re still part of this team, it’s their decision, but they’re still part of our team and they have to take care of the team.”
The Colts have had one of the lowest percentages of vaccinated players in the NFL.
“Look, I can beat my head against the wall,” Ballard said. “I can go in there and raise all kinds of hell and go off. That’s not how we roll. I believe in our guys. I believe in what they stand for and I’ll stand by them. We’ll continue to work on the vaccinations. It’s not like we’re done educating. … But they understand they have to take care of the protocols at hand and they have to live by them. And we’ll do that at the best of the ability we can do it.”
