Even though Forward Zac Rinaldo signed a two-way contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets this summer, he won’t be attending the team’s training camp anytime soon for refusing to have his COVID-19 vaccine shot.
According to a statement by Blue Jackets president John Davidson during a press conference on Monday, getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is a crucial issue for his team, and all 67 players who will come into their training camp have already received their complete doses.
“We win as a team, lose as a team,” Davidson stressed. “Everything we do, we do together as a team.” While the Blue Jackets headman shared that the decision to exclude the former Calgary Flames tough guy from their training camp was challenging to make, it is for the benefit of all the team’s players and staff.
“I’m proud of our group, and I’m proud that they recognize how important it is for us to do everything we can to protect ourselves and others,” Davidson added. “We have to do what we have to do.”
Remarkably, Rinaldo is not the first hockey personality to have been axed from a team for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Former San Jose Sharks associate coach Rocky Thompson and ex-Blue Jackets assistant coach Sylvain Lefebvre were also cut off from their respective teams for not taking the shot.
