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The NFL made a significant change Thursday to its coronavirus protocols, allowing a vaccinated player who tests positive for the virus but has no symptoms to test out of isolation in as little as one day. Meanwhile, the players’ union was advocating for the league to consider postponing games involving teams with large numbers of cases. The NFL Players Association believes that “rescheduling games should be an option” related to “any teams with major outbreaks,” according to a person familiar with the NFLPA’s view. (Maske, 12/16)

The NBA and its players have agreed to enhanced health and safety protocols through the holiday season in response to rising virus numbers, with additional testing coming and a return to mask usage in many situations. The upgraded mask rules will be in place “until agreed otherwise by the NBA and Players Association,” according to a memo shared with teams Thursday night and obtained by The Associated Press. Masks need to be worn again in almost all circumstances during team activities — including travel, when on the bench during games, in meetings and locker room, weight room and training room settings. The exceptions: during on-court basketball activities for players, and for head coaches during games. (Reynolds, 12/16)

Among the rash of players unavailable to play after testing positive, the vast majority are vaccinated and many are asymptomatic. So in a time of widely available vaccines and booster shots, would it be safe for sports leagues to allow vaccinated, asymptomatic players who test positive for the coronavirus to play in games? That day may come, public health experts say, with improved testing capability allowing players to safely return to play sooner, but it is not here yet. (Kilgore, 12/16)

Professional football players in the NFL are four times more likely to develop and die from ALS than the adult male population, according to new research. Scientists at Boston University's CTE Center, who conducted the study released Wednesday, said they couldn't determine exactly why the rate was higher for those athletes but suggested that repetitive head impacts and traumatic brain injuries may play a role. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease with no known cure. ALS has been linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, another degenerative brain disease found in many former football players. (Hernandez, 12/16)

The family of Vincent Jackson, a former NFL wide receiver who was found dead in February at age 38, announced Thursday that he was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after a brain study conducted by researchers from the Concussion Legacy Foundation. According to the foundation, Jackson was in Stage 2 of the disease, which is “associated with behavioral symptoms like aggression, impulsivity, depression, anxiety, paranoia, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation, along with progressive cognitive symptoms.” (Bieler, 12/16)

The C.T.E. diagnosis will provide only a partial coda for Lindsey Jackson and their four children. Though the family has come to grips with his absence in the 10 months since his death, many questions will never be answered. C.T.E. can only be diagnosed posthumously, so the Jacksons are left to piece together what was going on in his brain during the final years of his life. ... “When I look back at the different conversations we’ve had, I feel like he probably knew that there was something going on without actually vocalizing it,” Lindsey Jackson said. (Belson, 12/16)