Trump's comments on football hits irresponsible and indefensible | Tim Sullivan

The logical conclusion defies logic: The President of the United States appears to have come out in favor of concussions.

The primary blowback over Donald Trump’s Friday night speech in Alabama was prompted by his latest assault on the First Amendment; specifically for the suggestion that professional football players staging non-violent protests during the national anthem should be summarily fired.

No shortage of subject matter there. Yet recognizing that there’s a reasonable case for restricting political dissent on company time, and that businessmen have a right to protect their businesses from the counterproductive conduct of their employees, Trump’s continuing objections to penalties for hits to the head are shallow, irresponsible and indefensible.

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At a time when football’s future is clouded by the physical risks and legal liabilities associated with head trauma, when the sport’s stewards are desperately seeking to mitigate its dangers, Trump continues to complain that football has gone “soft” and that penalizing players for unsafe play is “ruining the game.”

Either the president is oblivious to scientific studies on the damage found in the brains of dead players, or he is indifferent to the health of those still playing. Either way, the Great Prevaricator’s rhetoric is reckless and reflects an appalling lack of critical thinking.

“The NFL ratings are down massively,” Trump told his Alabama audience on Friday. “Now the No. 1 reason happens to be they like watching what’s happening ... with yours truly. They like what’s happening. Because you know today if you hit too hard: 15 yards. Throw him out of the game.

“They had that last week. I watched for a couple of minutes. Two guys, just really, beautiful tackle. Boom, 15 yards. The referee gets on television, his wife is sitting at home, she’s so proud of him – they’re ruining the game. Right? They’re ruining the game. They’re ruining the game. That’s what they want to do. They want to hit. They want to hit. It is hurting the game.”

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Leaving aside Trump’s exaggerations, his ego and his appalling ineloquence, his central message seems to be that a violent game needs to be more violent if it is to hold his interest. This is exactly the opposite tack Teddy Roosevelt took in 1905, when he summoned coaches and administrators to the White House to address the brutality and deaths in a sport he thought worth saving.

Like so many of his public utterances, Trump’s statement on football was callous, short-sighted and without nuance, the kind of barstool bluster you hear from those wired to react without research or reasoning.

A more measured response might have acknowledged the risks players take or addressed the detection of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in the brain of Aaron Hernandez, the former New England tight end who committed suicide after being convicted of murder.

A more thoughtful man might have seen that making football safer deserves higher priority than his own entertainment.

Here follow the week’s Top 10 sports quotes. If you want me to stick to sports, tell the president to stop saying foolish things about football.

10. Archie Bradley, Arizona Diamondbacks reliever, on teammate Paul Goldschmidt: “If you were going to mold what you want a major-league player to look like, act like, speak like, I’ve got to go with No. 44. He’s the perfect guy. I mean, I can only think of one flaw he’s really got. ... Goldy is a nerd, I mean, he’s a complete nerd. I say that in the most positive way possible, but Goldy is a nerd.” (USA Today)

9. James Franklin, Penn State football coach, on calling a timeout while leading 56-0: "People said, when the score is 56-0, that we should just stand there and let someone kick it through the uprights. If that's how you think, and how you feel, you won't ever understand me and won't ever understand us. Whether it's the first play of the game or the last play, or whether we're winning or whether we're losing, we're going to fight for every inch on the field, every yard on the field ... we're going to fight.” (News conference)

8. Stephen Jackson, retired NBA player, on Kevin Durant’s stealth Twitter account: "Ah, Kevin Durant. I look at you now as I look at everyone else on Twitter and Instagram that has a little egg avatar. You are that person now. You cannot be excluded from that. Who creates a fake page? I’m the person, if I want to respond to somebody on social media, it has to come from my page with a verified check on it. He’s an egg avatar now, I have no respect for him." (ESPN)

7. Kyrie Irving, Boston Celtics guard, on his request to be traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers: "It never came from the fact of me wanting to be absolutely selfish and absolutely putting myself first and wanting to be the man. I don't really have an ego. I have a presence and aura about me that's very reality-based. It didn't come in a form of living in this false world and not being able to tell the truth to somebody and look them in the eye, like I don't want to do this anymore. I'm ready to move, and I'm ready to be on my own. I'm ready to try out a new situation and be in an environment where I felt like I can be happy.” (First Take)

6. Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals head coach, on addressing his team on the firing of offensive coordinator Ken Zampese: “This is not magic. You have to do the work. Offense, defense and special teams all alike. Changing; I said we got Kenny out of here. Not Kenny. We did. And they gotta understand that. They’re part of that. And the next time, look around, there will be different guys sitting there. And they realize that, too.” (Cincinnati Enquirer)

More quotes: Week in Quotes | Declining interest in NFL not just about boycotts

5. Geno Auriemma, University of Connecticut women’s basketball coach, on the role of sports in his school’s growth: “I understand there are professors on campus that wonder why there is any need for athletics. Why do we need the humanities? Or philosophy? We provide a service to students just like the English and engineering departments. How many of us make money for the university? If you read the stats, none of us, unless maybe you count the labs that bring in the federal grants." (Hartford Courant)

4. Joe Thomas, Cleveland Browns tackle, on the hoopla surrounding his playing 10,000 consecutive snaps: "I think as linemen, we're happy to not be the center of attention. Our careers are usually, when you're the center of attention, in the spotlight, it's usually a bad thing. So it's been a difficult week having that spotlight on me and I'm happy to move beyond that and hopefully sneak into the shadows for the rest of the season." (Cleveland.com)

3. Joe Maddon, Chicago Cubs manager, on his baseball legacy: "The only thing I've really focused on regarding my legacy to this point is that fact that I think I really altered dress codes. ... I always thought that the dress code was one of the most absurd things ever invented in major-league baseball, because they would wear all these expensive suits in the hope of winning 'because I wore an expensive suit.' And I never understood that. I never understood why it was so important to go from a clubhouse to a bus to a tarmac to a plane to a tarmac to a bus to a hotel lobby to your room and why it was so important to dress up." (Interview session)

2. Charles Barkley, Hall of Fame basketball player, on NBA revising schedule to reduce back-to-back games: "You know, these poor babies can't play back-to-back games. They're making $20, $30, $40 million a year. But we want to make it convenient for them. They're making $40 million a year, we can't stress 'em out. So we're just going to make it more comfortable for them. The private jets and four-star hotels aren't enough." (Speaking engagement at SMU)

1. Cris Carter, Hall of Fame wide receiver, on football's dangers: “I wonder what’s going to happen to our generation. I’ve had teammates who killed themselves: Andre Waters, teammate of mine in Philadelphia. I’ve had good friends of mine: Junior Seau, Dave Duerson. Great men, guys that have done tremendous things in their community. All of a sudden they became violent and took their own lives.

“So I worry. I worry what my future is. Now, I haven’t shown any signs of it. I didn’t have any recorded concussions playing. But I would say there is some type of fear. Fear of the unknown. But I sit here conflicted – with all of the information I have now – I wouldn’t change a thing." (First Things First)

Tim Sullivan can be reached at (502) 582-4650, tsullivan@courier-journal.com or @TimSullivan714 on Twitter.