While the federal government has been unwilling to push any sort of vaccine mandates on the people of this great nation, there are plenty of private corporations who are setting all manner of guidelines for how and when their employees will come back to work.  And, naturally, some of these companies are going to want to push a mandatory vaccination program, not only for the sake of keeping the workforce working, but also surely on account of the way that insurance companies are going to begin reacting to bringing employees back together. In the National Football League, coaches are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and this requirement has now forced at least one team to make a tough decision. After refusing to receive a vaccine for COVID-19, Rick Dennison is out as a Minnesota Vikings assistant coach, sources told ESPN on Friday. Dennison had served as the Vikings’ offensive line coach/run game coordinator the past two seasons. In a statement Friday, the Vikings said they were still in discussions with Dennison on the league’s COVID-19 protocols. Another coach in the league, New England Patriots co-offensive line coach Cole Popovich, also won’t be with his team in 2021 in a decision related to the COVID-19 vaccine and NFL guidelines, league sources confirmed to ESPN. The vaccine is required for all Tier 1 staff, including coaches, front-office executives, equipment managers and scouts. Players are not required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine but will face strict protocols during training camp and throughout the season that vaccinated players will be able to forgo. The league will allow for medical or religious exemptions to the policy, however. Dennison did not qualify for such an exemption, according to the team.

In a move that we’d be silly to not see coming, the Cleveland Indians are changing their name. The 21st century has not been a copacetic one for professional sports teams with potentially-offensive names.  The Washington “Redskins” are now, simply, The Washington Football Team, and have spent years trying to come up with whatever their next moniker will be.  Recently, they got as far as to announce that they won’t be “the warriors”, on account of how easily their previous Native American imagery might lend itself to the new name. Now, the Major League Baseball franchise from Cleveland has announced their transcendence from the no-longer-timely trope, and they got Tom Hanks to help. https://twitter.com/Indians/status/1418565355472101378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1418565355472101378%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fsports%2Fcleveland-indians-new-name-guardians The process is moving along at a fairly rapid clip, but the official change won’t occur until after the 2021 season comes to an end. Cleveland launched a section on its official website dedicated to the new name. Team owner Paul Dolan wrote in a letter to fans the “Indians will always be part of our history just as Cleveland has always been the most important part of our identity.” “In searching for a new brand, we sought a name that strongly reflects the pride, resiliency and loyalty of Clevelanders. Guardians embodies those defining attributes while drawing upon the iconic Guardians of Traffic proudly standing just outside Progressive Field on the Hope Memorial Bridge,” Dolan wrote. “It brings to life the pride of Clevelanders take in our city and the way we stand for each other while defending our Cleveland process.” New imagery for the team was also being spread around social media on Friday. https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1418574083634171907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1418574083634171907%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fsports%2Fcleveland-indians-new-name-guardians Thus far, the Atlanta Braves have been able to avoid a name-killing controversy, largely through their work with local Native American leaders, who help guide the team’s imagery and verbiage.