NFLPA president Tretter criticizes wristband vaccination rule

NFLPA president and Cleveland Browns center JC Tretter slammed teams that are requiring unvaccinated players to wear wristbands to identify their status, calling it "a nonsensical idea."

"They say they need a differentiator between vaccinated and unvaccinated players," Tretter said Thursday, according to ESPN's Jake Trotter. "We already have a differentiator. The unvaccinated players need to wear masks. No other sports league uses any sort of scarlet marking or helmet decal or wristband, because they know it's not necessary and the teams know who's vaccinated, who's not vaccinated."

Tretter believes the league is using wristbands as a tactic to put pressure on players to get vaccinated.

"So what it really comes down to is the NFL wanted to put a policy in place to try to shame unvaccinated players publicly about their status and make that known to everyone on the field," Tretter said. "It shouldn't be the case because it's unnecessary. We all know who's vaccinated and who's not, and it doesn't need to be a scarlet marking on people's helmets or wrists."

The NFL and NFLPA continue to clash over the use of wristbands, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports.

The Browns aren't one of the teams using the wristband rule, with head coach Kevin Stefanski saying he wanted to avoid "dividing the team over this issue."

Players around the NFL widely condemned the league's latest vaccination rules, which includes any game that can't be rescheduled due to a COVID-19 outbreak among unvaccinated players will result in the responsible club forfeiting the contest.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins initially said he'd consider retiring over the new rules before walking back his comments several hours later.

The NFL announced Thursday that 87.9% of players have been vaccinated with at least one shot. Teams with fully vaccinated rates of over 85% will have restrictions significantly reduced.