It was big news in the NFL when Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford tested positive for Covid last Friday. Now the team says oops, his test was a false positive and he doesn't have the virus after all.
Statement from the Detroit Lions pic.twitter.com/3C9jVHGbQV
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) August 4, 2020
His spouse doesn't hide her anger at league officials for not making "absolutely positive a person has Covid before releasing that into the world."
About an hour after the Lions' statement, Kelly Staffiord says on Instagram: "I blame the NFL for not holding themselves accountable. These are people's lives and livelihoods that are in those results in THEIR test sites."
Kelly Stafford: "I have been losing my mind." (Photo: Facebook, 2018)
Here's her full statement to 267,000 followers:
The past four days have been somewhat of a nightmare. For 24 hours, we believed my husband was positive for Covid. We were all tested the day after and we were all negative, including Matthew. Then he tested negative again, then again, again, and again.
After his second negative, we were made aware of the "false positives" and how this was one of those cases.
I have been losing my mind because of how my family has been treated since my husband was put on Covid-IR [injured reserve list].
Even after we knew it was false positive, our school told us they were not allowed back. 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 -- and that's just to name a few things.
I don't blame those scenarios on any of the people directly involved, but I do blame the NFL. I blame the NFL for not holding themselves accountable. These are people's lives and livelihoods that are in those results in THEIR test sites. Maybe we should be absolutely positive a person has Covid before releasing that info to the world.
I'm sharing our experience because I don't want it happening to any other family that plays for this league.
We are thankful for all those who called, texted, emailed and showed concern for Matthew and our family. Your thoughts during this strange, difficult time are greatly appreciated, but we are all absolutely fine and feeling great. Thank God for that.
In an accompanying comment, she adds: "I would also like people to know, if you saw me out and about after this, it was because we already knew it was a false positive. We would never chance endangering anyone with this virus. If we have learned anything in the past two years, it’s that we know the value of health and the health of others."
That last sentence refers to a brain tumor scare that sent her into surgery for 12 hours in April 2019.
