Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday America needs college football, as coronavirus has prevented some sports from being played.
In an interview with WDRB, a local Kentucky news outlet, McConnell was asked about the college football season, to which he responded by saying “America needs football” and adding that it was the wrong decision for the Big Ten and the Pac-12 to shutdown their seasons.
“Both the SEC and ACC, the two (Power Five) conferences that impact Kentucky, are still planning on playing football and they should,” McConnell said. “The U of L football coach, for example, was on one of the network morning shows this week pointing out that the players are actually safer in the program than outside because the protocols that have been established and the way that kids are watched on a virtually 24-hour basis. So if you’re interested in the health of the football players, the best thing is to allow them to play, not to shut down like the Big Ten and the Pac-12 did.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) puts on his face mask after speaking to members of the media following the weekly Senate Republican Policy Luncheon at Hart Senate Office Building June 23, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
LSU football coach Ed Orgeron, which is a team in the SEC, had similar words about the importance of football in America, saying Tuesday, “We need football. We need to play it. This state needs it. This country needs it.” Orgeron’s remarks were made during an event at LSU with Vice President Mike Pence about higher education and sports during the coronavirus pandemic. (RELATED: LSU Coach Ed Orgeron To Mike Pence: America Needs Football)
President Donald Trump weighed in on the college football season Monday, saying he does not want to see games canceled. In a tweet, Trump said “The student-athletes have been working too hard for their season to be cancelled. #WeWantToPlay.”(RELATED: Lou Holtz Says America Needs To Play Football, Compares It To D-Day)
As of Friday the ACC and SEC are still planning to play in the 2020 season.