Eagles running back Saquon Barkley
declines invitation to join Trump's sports council
[August 05, 2025]
By DAN GELSTON
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley has declined an invitation to
join President Donald Trump's council on sports, fitness, and
nutrition, which is being revitalized under an executive order that
also reestablishes the Presidential Fitness Test for American
children.
Barkley, the 2,000-yard rusher for the Super Bowl champion
Philadelphia Eagles, was on a list of sports personalities that
included golfers Bryson DeChambeau and Nelly Korda, WWE executive
Paul “Triple H” Levesque, football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor and
retired New York Yankees great Mariano Rivera.
Barkley said Monday following Eagles' practice that he had actually
declined the invitation.
“A couple months ago, it was brought to my team about the council,"
Barkley said. "So I’m not really too familiar with it. I felt like
that I am going to be super busy. Me and my family thought it would
probably be of best interest to not accept that. I was definitely a
little shocked when my name was mentioned. I’m assuming it’s
something great, so I appreciate it but was a little shocked when my
name was mentioned.”
Trump last week reestablished the Presidential Fitness Test for
American children, a fixture of public schools for decades that
gauged young people’s health and athleticism with 1-mile runs,
sit-ups and stretching exercises.
“This is a wonderful tradition, and we’re bringing it back,” Trump
said of the fitness test that began in 1966 but was phased out
during the Obama administration.
The executive order also reinvigorated the national sports council
that could have included Barkley.
Barkley won AP Offensive Player of the Year last season after
rushing for 2,005 yards, eighth-best in NFL history, in his first
season with the Eagles.
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Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley speaks during a news
conference at the team’s NFL football training camp, Wednesday, July
23, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Barkley has golfed with Trump and former President
Barack Obama over the last year and the running back attended the
White House celebration of the champion Eagles while some teammates
— notably star quarterback Jalen Hurts — skipped the ceremony.
Barkley visited Trump in April at Trump National Golf Club in
Bedminster, New Jersey, and caught a ride with the president to
Washington on Air Force One and then to the White House on Marine
One.
“He loved it,” Trump said then of Barkley’s short flight on the
presidential airplane. “He’s a great young guy and an incredible
football player. Saquon had a season for the ages, running behind
the most powerful offensive line in the NFL."
Barkley, meanwhile, pushed back on social media criticism following
the visit. He noted that he had already golfed with Obama, a
Democrat.
“Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand,”
Barkley posted on X.
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