Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper recently tested positive for COVID-19 and because he was unvaccinated, Cooper must quarantine a minimum of 10 days. Because of that, Cooper has to miss games against the Chiefs and the Raiders.
Cooper’s unvaccinated status was a topic of discussion for the Cowboys. Quarterback Dak Prescott went with the “personal decision” route while Jerry Jones took a similar but different approach.
The Cowboys team owner didn’t throw Cooper under the bus, in fact Jones praised him and said Cooper was “outstanding” in terms of character and intelligence. But in an interview with Shan and RJ on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Jones laid it out in a rather matter-of-fact way that if Cooper had been vaccinated he wouldn’t have taken a COVID test and thus would’ve played against the Chiefs.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones praised WR Amari Cooper for being “outstanding” from a character and intelligence standpoint. “But this is a classic case of how it can impact a team” when someone not vaccinated. “You cannot win anything individually. …This popped us. This did pop us.”
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) November 23, 2021
Jones has a rather pragmatic approach to vaccinations and has made his point clear in the past. He’s aligned with Prescott that it’s a personal choice but that personal choice might cost the team in terms of wins or money. Given the Chiefs won in a low scoring game where both teams struggled, Cooper’s presence would’ve helped and maybe been the difference.
Jones’ approach is more about showing how being unvaccinated negatively impacts a team more than anything else. To Jones, being vaccinated for COVID is something that’s done so you can have less of a chance of getting sick and have a better chance of not missing any games. Sure, being vaccinated still means you can get sick, but not only is there a lower chance of getting sick, you just need negative tests on consecutive days in order to come back. So even if Cooper had tested positive and missed the Chiefs game, there would’ve been a better chance for Cooper to play this Thursday had he been vaccinated.
For Jones, getting vaccinated is no different than other things players choose to do for the benefit of the team like taking a supplement to improve health and performance (which has side effects) or getting a cortisone shot to be able to play with injury (which also has side effects).
That approach might not be something vaccine proponents wanted to hear but it is an approach and some people can be motivated by that in order to get the vaccine.
[Shan and RJ on 105.3 The Fan]
