The absurdity of sports league COVID-19 policies is finally being put on display on a large scale as vaccinated league after vaccinated league cowers in the face of the coronavirus.

The NBA and the NHL are now postponing games over positive COVID-19 tests, despite both leagues having nearly 100% of players vaccinated. The Chicago Bulls have already had two games postponed by the NBA, even though the team is 100% vaccinated.

Meanwhile, the NFL’s rules forced the sidelining of 37 players on Monday, even though 94% of the league’s players are fully vaccinated. The NFL is now mandating booster shots for all nonplayer staff, and the NBA will no longer recognize players as fully vaccinated if they don’t get the booster.

It only appears that one man in any of these leagues recognizes how silly this has become. Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was not pleased when forward Caleb Martin was benched by the NBA after he tested positive for the virus. “Are players missing games because they’re symptomatic? Or are they asymptomatic? Has everybody gotten their shots and their boosters? Why would they be held out extensively longer than if they have the flu?" Spoelstra wondered. “I think there’s a contradiction there, and if you just go hunting for, and add more testing and try to find things, you probably will.”

These sports leagues are punishing teams by benching fully vaccinated players to protect other fully vaccinated players from a disease that does not pose a serious risk to athletes (some of the fittest, healthiest people in the country) in the first place. The vaccine works, so why are the NFL, NBA, and NHL cowering in fear of the virus more so now than when they played their seasons last year before the vaccine was even available?

There is no reason why fully vaccinated athletes should even be regularly tested, let alone forced to miss time over asymptomatic positive tests. COVID-19 isn’t going to go away, so when will these stupid rules?

The NFL’s rules are already threatening to spoil the most wide-open postseason the league has seen in years — all because of what? The bad press the league might get if it says vaccines work and stops testing vaccinated players?

There is no added safety value to testing vaccinated players weekly and bubble-wrapping them when they test positive. They are vaccinated. They are protected from COVID-19. These leagues should quit panicking and put a little faith in the vaccines that they pressured their athletes to get.