Getty Las Vegas Raiders helmet.
As multiple teams continue to have issues with COVID-19, the Las Vegas Raiders have yet to send a player to the COVID-19 list during the regular season. A big reason for that is due to the team’s 100% vaccination rate. The Raiders are also the only team in the NFL that isn’t allowing unvaccinated fans at home games.
The vaccination question is an ongoing issue in American sports and even Las Vegas isn’t immune to controversy surrounding the topic. Practice squad quarterback Kyle Sloter took note of a tweet from NFL reporter Mike Freeman who shared a video of Dr. Anthony Fauci talking about the data of how the vaccinated react to COVID-19 compared to the unvaccinated.
Sloter responded with a laughing emoji but quickly deleted it. Freeman called the quarterback out.
A backup quarterback for the Raiders, who has no history of fighting infectious diseases, in a tweet mocked vaccine data presented by Anthony Fauci, who is one of the world’s experts. Then quickly deleted the tweet once called out on it.
What a world we live in.
While Sloter didn’t leave the tweet up long, some fans were able to snag a screenshot.
As a backup quarterback on the practice squad, it’s unwise for Sloter to risk any sort of controversy. At the same time, he shouldn’t lose his job for simply responding to a tweet with a laughing emoji. It would be smart for him to stay off Twitter for some time.
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Jon Gruden Has Major Issues With SoFi Stadium
Sloter’s tweet was overshadowed by his team’s Week 4 Monday night clash with the Los Angeles Chargers. The previously undefeated Raiders lost the game 28-14, dropping to 3-1 following their first trip to SoFi Stadium with fans in attendance. There were a majority of Raiders fans at the game as the team still has strong ties to Los Angeles.
While SoFi Stadium and its surrounding amenities cost $5.5 billion to construct, head coach Jon Gruden wasn’t impressed that its construction forced a weather delay.
“I’ve never had an indoor stadium with a lightning delay,” Gruden said during his October 4 postgame press conference. “Nah, I’m not an engineer. I have no idea, and I have never heard that. I thought it was a joke. But it affected both teams.”
Weather delays aren’t common in Los Angeles but that wasn’t the only issue Gruden had with the stadium. He was not a fan of the locker room.
“You know, the locker room here is the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen,” Gruden said. “You can’t see anybody. It’s like a maze.
“So, you know, whoever contorted this visiting locker room, I’d like to meet this guy and see what his, um, what his idea was.”
Raiders Needs to Move On
The Raiders got off to a hot start this season but now have their first ugly loss under their belt. How the team responds to Monday’s performance could determine how the rest of the season will go.
The team has struggled to bounce back in recent years but is fortunate to be facing a struggling Chicago Bears team in Week 5, followed by dates with the Denver Broncos (3-1) and Philadelphia Eagles (1-3) prior to the team’s Week 8 bye.
The Raiders weren’t going to go undefeated so it’s shortsighted to get too worried about a loss on the road against a very good Chargers team.
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Raiders QB Kyle Sloter in Hot Water Over Controversial Tweet