Through his foundation, Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller hosted a charity event last week with the cause of raising money to help young people overcome drug and alcohol addiction.
Unfortunately, the event made headlines for the wrong reasons as Derek Carr and other Raiders players who attended the event were caught on video not wearing masks, which simply can’t happen with all of the trouble the NFL has gone through to make this season happen.
Carr expressed remorse for his and his teammates’ actions, which were in violation of NFL and Nevada rules for the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Despite the apology, the league still decided to take action as according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Carr, Waller, Jason Witten and other Raiders players were fined for their actions:
Darren Waller got $30K. The following players were fined $15K: Derek Carr, Derek Carrier, Zay Jones, Nevin Lawson, Erik Magnuson (practice squad), Foster Moreau, Nathan Peterman, Hunter Renfrow, Jason Witten. https://t.co/ZqqDpy1sxA
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 5, 2020
#Raiders QB Derek Carr was among the several players who got fined, and source said his was for $15K. An expensive charity event that raised roughly $300,000. Carr was quoted as saying “We should have kept the masks on, even if we are coming in and they're introducing us."
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 5, 2020
It appears the NFLPA will be appealing the fines:
The NFLPA will appeal the fines of the #Raiders players related to the charity event at the country club. It will file a grievance. https://t.co/8pNPQYQWGb
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 7, 2020
The Raiders are one of the organizations that need to begin taking protocols seriously as they have already been fined a few times. In addition to this incident, Jon Gruden and the organization were also fined for him not wearing his mask on the sideline, and the Raiders were handed a fine for an unauthorized media member being in the locker room after a game as well.
While there haven’t been any positive tests in the Raiders organization since the season started, there is still a long way to go so it is important to continue following protocols to avoid an outbreak.
Despite the poor judgment by Raiders players, it is important to note that Waller’s event was able to raise $300,000, which is great work by him and everyone else involved.
