Kelly Stafford Reveals Painful Harassment False Positive COVID Case
Kelly Stafford revealed the painful harassment that a false positive COVID case had on her family.
This past weekend, Detroit Lions starting quarterback Matthew Stafford was deemed medically ineligible to play due to a positive COVID-19 test. He was subsequently placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
The reserve/COVID-19 list was specifically created to isolate players who either tested positive for the disease or were exposed to it in some capacity. Its goal was preserve the safety of non-exposed players as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Unfortunately, the process is not foolproof.
Stafford’s Test Was A False Positive
On Tuesday, it was revealed that Stafford’s test result was in fact a false positive. He never had COVID-19 – and two negative tests confirmed it.
Shortly after her husband was exonerated, Kelly went on the offensive. She lambasted the NFL for their hastiness in revealing the false positive test publicly, and exposed the painful trauma her family went through as a result.
“For 24 hours, we believed my husband was positive for COVID,” she said.
“We were all tested the day after and we were all negative including Matthew. Then he tested negative again, then again, again, and again.”
“Even after we knew it was false positive, our school told us they were not allowed back,” she continued.
“I was approached in a grocery store and told I was ‘endangering others,’ my kids were harassed and kicked off a playground, I was told I needed to wait in my car when trying to pick up food, and people closest to us had to get tested just so they could go back to work.”
How Will The NFL Respond?
While it is understandable that the NFL would want to protect its players from any potentially sick people, clearly the process is flawed. And clearly the flaws can be damaging, as illustrated by Kelly’s Instagram post.
When a player is labeled as “infected,” the ramifications do not simply start and end with that player. His family, friends and many others are also strongly effected.
It remains to be seen if the NFL will learn from this particular incident and do something to ensure similar things don’t happen in the future.
Related: Dwayne Haskins, Joe Burrow Hated Each Other At Ohio State
Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
