Joe Biden has a big problem with a decision made by the Texas Rangers. The President of the United States recently spoke to Sage Steele of ESPN about the Rangers opening their stadium at full capacity on Opening Day. Biden is not happy with the Rangers not limiting fans at Globe Life Field during the COVID-19 pandemic, calling the decision “a mistake.”
“Well, that’s a decision they made. I think it’s a mistake,” Biden said. “They should listen to Dr. [Anthony] Fauci, the scientists and the experts. But I think it’s not responsible.” Globe Life Field can seat 40,300 people and is the only Major League Baseball Stadium to allow 100% capacity on Opening Day. Fans will be required to wear masks except when eating or drinking at their seats. The opener is set for April 5, and after the game, certain parts of Globe Life Field will have “distanced seating” sections that will have more space between occupied seats.
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Biden was also asked what he would tell players who are hesitant about getting the COVID-19 vaccine. “I would say I’m President of the United States and I got vaccinated,” he said. “I don’t have an unimportant job. Would I take the vaccine if I thought it was going to hurt me? We have done incredible research on the vaccines and they have shown that they work. We have to get to the point where enough people have taken the vaccine, so we diminish the possibility for it to spread.”
The majority of teams have limited their capacity to 20% to 30%, while the Boston Red Sox will only be 12% full, the lowest in all of baseball. Commissioner Rob Manfred recently said the goal is to have all stadiums at full capacity by midsummer. Biden told Steele that more than 600 million doses of the three vaccines – Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna – have been purchased by the U.S. government and 75% of people age 65 and older have received at least one of them. More states are moving towards allowing everyone 16 and older to get vaccinated.
“We are moving across the board that way,” Biden said. “That’s going to diminish the prospects of its spread. In terms of it being responsible [for stadiums to open at full capacity] — you see what’s happening in Europe now when they lifted the mandates. I don’t know why we don’t just follow the science and beat this — just flat out beat it.”
