For clarification Baxter strongly implied he agreed with the players talking about Covid being a big conspiracy, not that some players aren't too bright...
In fairness, only Harry Williams has (to my knowledge) directly made mention of any kind of conspiracy, posting simply "We are being lied to. Open your eyes." Baxter was interviewed by BT and asked which of his squad he'd prefer to self-isolate with if he had to, and he replied Harry Williams, giving his reasons as Williams' views on COVID making for some "interesting" conversations. He sounded very much as though he was endorsing those views, and Ugo Monye is no Jeremy Paxman, so he wasn't pressed for clarity. Baxter's defence may well be that he would like to opportunity to put him right, but it certainly didn't come across like that.
Hepburn's post was at least a reasoned argument (of sorts) against the restriction of individual liberty by the government and the dangerous precedent this sets. He doesn't appear to be denying COVID's existence or claiming it is a global conspiracy, just questioning methods. It may go against the mainstream view, but that alone does not make him "thick". It was re-tweeted by Slade and Nowell.
I'd imagine most clubs have issued some kind of social media guidelines to players around posting/sharing anything about COVID/lockdown and not sharing anything controversial as those opinions might be seen to be representative of the club. Evidently Exeter don't have, or at least didn't have such guidelines in place at the time of those posts. I don't follow such things, but I've heard nothing since, so maybe they've now reminded players to steer clear of controversy.
Always a Wasp
