President Donald Trump on Tuesday continued his years long attack on athletes who kneel during the national anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality. He urged NFL and college football leagues to play this year despite coronavirus concerns ― so long as players stand for the national anthem.
Asked whether he believes the NFL will move forward with its scheduled season opener next month, Trump told Fox Sports Radio that his administration is doing “everything possible” to help the league.
Trump also said it would be a “tragic mistake” for college football leagues to cancel their season because of the pandemic. Several conferences, including the Big Ten and Pac-12, have reportedly voted not to play this year. On Tuesday, the University of Massachusetts joined the University of Connecticut in canceling its football season.
“They’re very healthy people,” Trump said of college football players. “You know, people don’t realize, it’s a tiny percentage of people that get sick and they’re old. It just attacks old people, especially old people with bad hearts, diabetes or some kind of a physical problem, a weight problem.”
He continued: “These football players are very young, strong people physically. I mean they’re physically in extraordinary shape. So you’re not going to have a problem. ... You’re not going to see people dying.”
While it’s true that people 65 and older are much more likely to be hospitalized or die after contracting the virus than younger people, COVID-19 has proven to be serious and sometimes fatal in some young, healthy people. Several prominent college football players have contracted the virus. Louisiana State University linebacker Travez Moore tweeted last week that he had lost 27 pounds during his battle with COVID-19.
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