President Trump wants to see college football commence this fall as long as players don’t engage in any protests against the national anthem or flag.
“College football, get out there and play football,” Trump said on Tuesday during a press briefing. “People want to see it. And stand for your American flag. Stand for your national anthem.”
Trump has been advocating for sports teams to begin despite the public health threat looming from the coronavirus pandemic. This week, the Big Ten announced it would not play its season as originally planned. The Pac-12 will also plan to cancel its season, while other major conferences haven’t made a final decision about whether to carry out their season.
Trump added that statistically, most of the players would be able to fight off the virus and that the country will eventually develop immunity.
The president also blasted the National Football League protests, where players knelt during the national anthem, as well as similar protests by the National Basketball Association. Players knelt to protest racial injustice and police brutality in the country, which heightened in attention following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
“You look at the NBA … they didn’t stand,” Trump said. “They didn’t show respect to our flag. They didn’t show respect to our national anthem. And maybe that’s having an impact. It’s just not good. The NFL had its problems two years ago when that happened. They went way down in their ratings and their fans, and they struggled back, and … they’re putting themselves in the same position. So, stand for your flag and stand for the national anthem, and I think you’re going to do fantastically well. Because a lot of people aren’t going to watch if you don’t. I’m one of them.”
The decision weighing on conferences comes as the United States surpasses 5 million cases of the coronavirus, with 160,000 deaths.
