EAGAN, Minn.– After saying “if I pass away, I die” about the coronavirus, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins clarified his remarks Wednesday.
On Spotifys “10 Questions With Kyle Brandt,” a podcast the quarterback stated he appeared on in July however which was published online Wednesday, Cousins said he is taking a “survival of the fittest” individual approach to the coronavirus, even if it eliminates him.
After a wave of backlash over his comments, the Vikings went up Cousins media schedule one day to speak to Twin Cities reporters Wednesday in an attempt to explain what he suggested.
” What I was trying to say back then, admittedly, I probably wasnt as clear as I would have liked to have been,” Cousins stated. “But what I desired to state then, what I would echo again now is that while the virus does not offer me a terrific quantity of individual worry, theres still excellent factor for me to take part in using a mask and social distancing and cleaning my hands as often as I can and following procedures that have been set in place clearly to be considerate and considerate of other individuals, which is very essential, but then likewise to be available for all 16 games this fall because as the procedure is set up, if a player were to check favorable, they would be potentially out of a game or video games.
2 Related” Theres lots of reasons to wear a mask, social range and be extremely watchful to help stop the spread of the infection. That was the heart of what I was attempting to state in July. Undoubtedly I didnt state it as clear as I would have liked to so I simply wish to share that very same message again and hopefully articulate it a bit much better. But that has actually constantly been my heart and is once again now, just trying to state that.”
The Vikings did not practice on Wednesday, and no players were initially set up for media accessibility.
On the podcast, Brandt asked Cousins to rank his level of issue over contracting the infection on a 1-10 scale, with 1 being “the person who says, Masks are foolish, youre all a bunch of lemmings, and 10 is, Im not leaving my master bathroom for the next 10 years.”.
Cousins responded: “Im not gon na call any person stupid, for the trouble it would get me in. Im about a. 000001.”.
When asked to elaborate on that response, Cousins stated: “I want to appreciate what other peoples issues are. For me personally, simply talking nobody else can get the infection, what is your concern if you could get it, I would state Im gon na set about my every day life. If I get it, Im gon na ride it out. Im gon na let nature do its course. Survival-of-the-fittest kind of method. And simply state, if it knocks me out, it knocks me out. Im going to be okay. You understand, even if I pass away. I die if I pass away. I sort of have peace about that.”.
Asked whether he would take back his “if I pass away, I die” comment with how lots of individuals have perished worldwide from the virus, including nearly 185,000 in the United States since Wednesday afternoon, Cousins did not change his position however supplied even more clarity on what he indicated.
” I believe it was just the heart behind it was just saying that I have peace if that were to happen was all I was wanting to state,” Cousins said.
The quarterback later on added, “I have peace. I do not believe that I control the result of my life. Theres numerous things out of my control. However undoubtedly, my faith is at the foundation of my life. I trust the Lord to manage things. If something occurs, I trust him to have a strategy and function and to utilize even a pain, a problem, difficulty, to utilize that to assist grow me and teach me more about him.”.
Undoubtedly I didnt state it as clear as I would have liked to so I simply want to share that exact same message once again and hopefully articulate it a little bit much better. That has actually always been my heart and is again now, simply attempting to say that.”
When asked to elaborate on that response, Cousins said: “I want to respect what other individualss concerns are. For me personally, simply talking no one else can get the infection, what is your concern if you might get it, I would say Im gon na go about my daily life. “That was what I was trying to state in July is that I want to be extremely respectful and thoughtful of everyone else.
On the podcast, Cousins said that for him, using a mask “is actually about being considerate to other individuals,” an approach he doubled down on throughout his press conference.
” Thats what its everything about, right?” he stated. “That was what I was attempting to say in July is that I want to be really considerate and considerate of everyone else. Its a great chance to show that every day with the method you wash your hands regularly and use a mask and are considerate of other individuals.”.
The NFL has updated its game-day protocols by requiring every coach and employee in the bench area to use a mask and decreasing the size of each groups travel celebration.
The league and the NFL Players Association announced Tuesday that 10 gamers and other team personnel checked favorable for the virus throughout the leagues newest screening period of Aug. 21-29. According to the data, 8,739 personnel and players were given 58,621 tests during the Aug. 21-29 period. That consisted of 23,279 tests to 2,747 gamers and 35,342 to 5,992 personnel.
