Vikings QB Cousins calls audible on virus stance

[September 03, 2020]  Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins raised eyebrows after saying in a podcast released Wednesday he is not afraid of the coronavirus.

He later attempted to clarify his comments.

"If I did, I die," Cousins said during an interview with Spotify's "10 Questions With Kyle Brandt."

Cousins told Brandt, in an interview taped in July, that he doesn't believe face masks help to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but wears them out of respect for other people's concerns about potential health and safety risks.

Brandt asked Cousins to rate his level of concern about the virus on a 1-10 scale, with 1 being "masks are stupid, you're all a bunch of lemmings" and 10 being "I'm not leaving my master bathroom for the next 10 years."

"I'm not gonna call anybody stupid, for the trouble it would get me in, but I'm about a .000001," Cousins replied.

"... I'm gonna go about my daily life," Cousins continued. "If I get it, I'm gonna ride it out. I'm gonna let nature do its course. Survival-of-the-fittest kind of approach. And just say, if it knocks me out, it knocks me out. I'm going to be OK. You know, even if I die. If I die, I die. I kind of have peace about that."

Cousins clarified his earlier statements during a video press conference Wednesday afternoon, saying his true feelings on the matter didn't come through.

"Admittedly I probably wasn't as clear as I would have liked to have been," Cousins said. "But what I wanted to say then, and what I would echo again now, is that while the virus does not give me a great amount of personal fear, there's still great reason for me to engage in wearing a mask and social distancing and washing my hands as frequently as I can and following protocols that have been set in place.

"Obviously, to be respectful and considerate of other people, which is very important, but then also to be available for all 16 games this fall because as the protocol is set up if a player were to test positive they would be potentially out of the game or games," Cousins continued.
 

"There's plenty of reasons to wear a mask, social distance and be very vigilant to help stop the spread of the virus. That was the heart behind what I was trying to say in July."

The NFL and NFL Players Association announced Tuesday that four players and six team staff members tested positive for the coronavirus during the latest testing period from Aug. 21-29.

A total of 8,739 players and club personnel were tested 58,621 times during that period.

Cousins, 32, is a two-time Pro Bowl selection entering his ninth season in the NFL and his third in Minnesota.

He went 10-5 as a starter in 2019, completing 69.1 percent of his passes for 3,603 yards with 26 touchdowns and six interceptions.

--Field Level Media

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