Ravens decline to name staff member responsible for outbreak

[Poe the Raven]

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So who’s the person who sparked the outbreak in Baltimore? The Ravens decline to say.

“There will be no names released,” Ravens spokesman Chad Steele told PFT on Wednesday night.

NFL Media has reported that it was a strength and conditioning coach. The Ravens have two of them. So both will be under suspicion until one is either identified by the team or owns up to it.

Players see the failure to name names as a double standard. As Steelers cornerback Joe Haden tweeted on Wednesday, “They always got our NAMES BLASTED Across the TV screen when we break the rules! Put a face on it.”

The other question is whether the Ravens’ affirmative move to announce that the unnamed staff member will be disciplined will insulate the Ravens from the full helping of discipline that would have been imposed by the league. And that’s a murky, vague question, given the apparent inconsistency and randomness of enforcement when it comes to COVID-19 protocols.

Although it can be argued that the unnamed strength and conditioning coach went rogue, it also can be argued that the Ravens have automatic responsibility for the outbreak based on the failure to properly supervise a critical member of the coaching staff who has repeated and regular contact to all players, often in the confined space of a weight room.

Apparently, throwing the staff member under the bus could help the Ravens from being run over by the 345 Park Avenue train. But the damage already was done; the idea that the Ravens may experience lesser consequences because they self-reported instead of circling the wagons seems odd.

Then again, that’s the least odd aspect of this situation, by far.