The Arizona Cardinals received poor grades almost across the board in a recent report card by NFL players for their facilities and working conditions.
It might have cost a longtime employee his job.
According to Kyle Odegard (formerly a reporter for the team) of Compare.bet, longtime head athletic trainer Tom Reed was fired.
He had been the team’s head athletic trainer for 15 years.
Per Odegard, “there is a belief within the building that Reed was collateral damage following the Cardinals’ poor grades on an NFLPA players survey.”
In the recent NFLPA player report cards for teams, the Cardinals received failing grades in five of eight categories. It included the training room. However, the training staff was given a grade of B+.
Reed was well respected by current and former players. It was his work primarily that got the team through the pandemic seasons.
It is an interesting move, but the organization does need change. What follows the firing will be critical.
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