The NFL has fined the Las Vegas Raiders $500,000 and their head coach Jon Gruden $150,000 for violating COVID-19 protocols, according to Yahoo senior NFL reporter Charles Robinson. The Raiders have also lost their 2021 sixth-round pick.
Jay Glazer of FOX Sports warned in late October that the NFL would come down hard on the Raiders after offensive lineman Trent Brown tested positive for coronavirus. Glazer suggested that the team would be fined "very heavily," adding it would be higher than the $350,000 fine given to the Tennessee Titans.
As noted by Robinson, the Raiders were punished so severely because they are now considered a "repeat offender." Gruden was fined $100,000 for failing to properly wear a face covering during a game against the New Orleans Saints in late September. In early October, 10 Raiders players were fined by the league for a total of $165,000 for attending a fundraiser event for charity and not wearing a face covering.
Brown contracted the virus later that month, and was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. An investigation by the NFL and NFLPA found that Brown didn’t always wear his tracking device, which helps with contract tracing when a player tests positive.
Brown was set to return to the field this past Sunday, but he was hospitalized after air entered his bloodstream during a pregame IV. Even though he has since been released from the hospital, Brown returned to the reserve/COVID-19 list after experiencing complications due to the virus.
