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NFL warns Texans to stay in hotel during trip to Mexico City

Aug 14, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; A gold-painted NFL logo on the field before the start of a preseason NFL football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. The logo is part of the NFL's "On the Fifty" campaign, to promote Super Bowl 50 next February. The Jacksonville Jaguars won 23-21. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports

With the major political strife as well as warring amongst the varied criminal factions spread throughout the country, there are very few places in Mexico that are truly safe for tourists.

So the NFL decided the best possible thing to do is send two NFL teams into Mexico City to host a primetime Monday Night Football game.

With a sharp spike in cartel-related violent crime in Mexico City, what was once considered a safe haven for tourists is now part of the battleground in Mexico’s long-standing cartel wars, albeit not as dangerous as states such as Guerrero.

One key tactic of many criminals throughout the cartels is to kidnap American tourists who are seen as rich and vulnerable. They are taken and ransomed off, usually by phone call first.

With the impending NFL game this week, the league is taking precautions regarding their players to keep them safe in Mexico City, including issuing a memo to the Houston Texans outlining concerns regarding the trip, and guidelines to follow to stay safe, per the AP.

A section of the memo under the heading “safety” had a bullet point with: “DO NOT leave the hotel.” It was followed by a line advising players to leave all “expensive jewelry at home,” not to bring large sums of money and not to use ATMs.

Much of this is common sense as flashy jewelry, withdrawal of large sums of money, and traveling around unsafe areas at night make people prime targets of kidnapping, robbery, extortion, or even murder regardless of how big that person is.

A second section titled “health and performance” has basic tips like drinking only bottled water and avoiding the consumption of ice. It also warned: “Eat all meals in the meal room. DO NOT order room service” and “DO NOT eat outside of the team meal room.”

This here is also no joke. While many will brush off these guidelines as “overly-cautious,” the water in Mexico can be toxic to an extent, causing stomach pains and diarrhea to the point that you will lose roughly 10 pounds due to viruses within the water. On top of that, the food in Mexico is cooked with very loose guidelines all around, and can prove toxic to those whose stomachs aren’t used to eating like that.

While most of these guidelines may seem over-excessive, they are no different than guidelines laid out for businessmen who travel to Mexico, and are truly there to keep people safe.

In an interesting turn of events, the NFL did not send the memo and precautions to the Oakland Raiders, the Texans Monday night opponent. Despite this, several players on the Oakland roster are already taking extra precautions ahead of their trip to Mexico, and you can expect the front office to take the time and outline all the precautions needed when traveling through Mexico.

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