President Donald Trump said he thinks college football would make a “tragic mistake” if the sport is not played this fall.
Appearing Tuesday morning on Fox Sports Radio, Trump cited the youth and general health of college players as factors that will help them prevent the most serious symptoms of the coronavirus.
“These footballers are very young, strong people, and physically I mean, they are physically in extraordinary shape,” Trump said in the interview. “That they will have no problem, you will not see people, did you know, can there be? Could it happen? But I doubt it.
“I think football makes a tragic mistake,” Trump later added.
He seemed to be a proponent of the sport being played with fans in the stands, but noted, “I’m not sure college football can do it, but we’ll have to see.”
Trump’s remarks came before the Big Ten became the first Power 5 conference to postpone its fall football season until spring, ESPN sources said, confirming multiple reports.
The United States registered fewer than 50,000 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday and Monday, but has still been the worst-hit country, with more than 5 million diagnosed cases and at least 163,533 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Hospitalization rates for people between the ages of 18 and 29 are 56 per 100,000, compared to 281 per 100,000 people between the ages of 65 and 74. People in their 20s are less likely to be hospitalized or die from the virus, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and prevention. Eight out of every 10 coronavirus-related deaths in the United States have been between adults 65 and older, according to the CDC.
But young people can get the disease. More than 97,000 children in the U.S. tested positive for the virus in the last two weeks of July, according to figures from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Association of Children’s Hospital. As of August 6, there were more than 380,000 confirmed cases in children, according to the report. That’s less than 8% of cases nationwide.
Trump also spoke about his desire to start watching the NFL season, but with a caveat that is not related to the global pandemic.
“Well, they want to open up and they want to open up badly, and they’ve collaborated with government. I would say this: If they do not stand for that national anthem, I hope they do not open up,” Trump said. “But otherwise I would like to see them open and we will do everything possible to get them open. They can protest in other ways. They would not have to flag our flag or our country.”
Trump’s opposition to players protesting while playing the national anthem led him to criticize the NBA, which is restarting its season in a bubble setting.
“I think it’s been terrible for basketball,” Trump said. “Look at the basketball evaluations. They lie to very low numbers. Very, very low numbers. People are angry about it. They do not realize it, they do not want to, they have enough politics with guys like me. They do not need more than they do. drive down, go up for the shot.They don’t need it.And there was a disgust about the NBA, as it was done.
“That I think the NBA is in trouble – I think it’s in big trouble, bigger problems than they understand. And honestly, ice hockey, that’s doing very well, they did not, they respect the mores, they respect something. they would do it. And they actually do it very well as I understand it. “
According to the NBA, their games have helped ABC, ESPN and TNT win prime ratings every night among the major demographics of men aged 18 to 49. The NBA game between the LA Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers was the most watched sports program since the league reopened on July 30, and eight of the 10 most watched prime-time sports programs at that time had NBA games West.
In addition to his domestic problems with the NBA, Trump also expressed his displeasure over the league’s relationship with China.
‘The road [the NBA] cared for China, the way they bow to China, it’s a shame, honestly, “Trump said. And they earn a lot more money here than they do from China. But we have a system that you can not respect your system. And that’s too bad for them, too bad for them that they do not appreciate what they have here. “
Trump has drawn strong criticism from NBA players in the past, and he took a shot at them in his comments Tuesday, calling some of his detractors “very annoying, very, very annoying and honestly very stupid.”
One of the loudest voices against Trump from within the NBA was that of LeBron James. Although Trump did not name James, he was asked if he thought the Lakers star was better than Michael Jordan.
“Well, I’ve seen them both. Michael Jordan is [the better player]”Trump said.” Plus, he was not a politician, so people liked him better. “
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