Current Events > NFL Officials were allowed to skip COVID testing line in NYC

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https://gothamist.com/news/personal-foul-nfl-officials-allowed-skip-covid-testing-line-manhattan

Employees of the NFL were allowed to skip the line at a COVID testing site listed as a state-partnered facility on Monday, a facility employee and league spokesperson confirmed, sparking outrage among the 100 or so people huddled in the cold who said theyd spent hours queued up for pre-scheduled appointments. Outside the BioReference testing facility in East Midtown, complaints of unfair treatment rang out from a line that stretched along a full block of Lexington Avenue and wrapped around 52nd Street. The incident came as New Yorkers throughout the city have flocked to testing facilities as the omicron and delta variants have sent new COVID cases skyrocketing ahead of the holidays. People in line said they paid $100 for the promise of a PCR test appointment with a result that BioReference claims on its site would come back in under an hour. Instead, several people told WNYC/Gothamist they were forced to wait for up to three hours ahead of their scheduled time slots, as about half a dozen NFL employees were seen marching to the front of the line. We're miserable and freezing cold, said Robin Spigel, a Manhattan resident who made an appointment on Monday with BioReference to get her daughter a test, after she was exposed by a classmate. It's a state program with priority for the NFL, and who knows who else, with no explanation. It's pretty hard to understand.

An employee at the facility confirmed that they were instructed to give priority to employees of the professional football league. They get seen first, there's nothing I can do about that, the employee told WNYC/Gothamist, requesting anonymity to protect their employment. When they come, they come, they get seen and that's it. In an emailed statement, Brian McCarthy, a spokesperson for the NFL, said five members of the football operations department received expedited tests in anticipation of working closely together in the office at the league headquarters for tonights double header. New York officials are often called on to review tape of contested plays and turnovers. He said the NFL has a contract with BioReference to test players and club personnel. Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was unaware of the specifics around the site but said it was inappropriate for anyone to skip the line. We are going to ensure that we get the message out to any of the providers of this that there is no skipping of line, I don't care what your job is, Hochul said during a press conference Wednesday. That's inappropriate and I don't want anyone to be discouraged when they're waiting in lines. I thank the people who are getting tested. They're doing the right thing. We want to make sure that everyone is treated equally in the process."