The Atlanta Business Journal disagrees -
https://atlantabusinessjournal.com/covid-19-vaccines-are-gene-therapy/
Sounds like a mandate -
https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-nflpa-agree-to-updated-covid-19-protocols-for-training-camp-preseason
Individuals who are not fully vaccinated, including players, will be prohibited from gathering outside club facilities or team travel. NFL players who are not fully vaccinated will be barred from going to nightclubs, bars, house parties, concerts, etc. Failure to follow the protocols could result in fines of $50,000 for a first offense.
One of the definitions of 'mandate' from dictionary.com:
an authoritative order or command
Do you know what mRNA is?
It's not like Pfizer isn't into gene therapy -
https://www.pfizer.com/partners/discovery/modalities-and-platforms/gene-therapy
Moderna calls theirs an "operating system" -
https://www.modernatx.com/mrna-technology/mrna-platform-enabling-drug-discovery-development
I dunno, sounds like gene therapy -
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html
COVID-19 mRNA vaccines give instructions for our cells to make a harmless piece of what is called the “spike protein.”
True, the other approved jabs in North America (J&J and AztraZeneca) are not gene therapies but viral vector shots. I'll leave it to you to research that one.
My point being that Cole has every right to just say no.