In January 2016, President Trump stated;
“Now they tackle. ‘Oh, head-on-head collision, 15 yards.’ The whole game is all screwed up. You say, ‘Wow, what a tackle.’ Bing. Flag. Football has become soft. Football has become soft. Now, I’ll be criticized for that. They’ll say, ‘Oh, isn’t that terrible.’ But football has become soft like our country has become soft. “It’s a Sunday, who the hell wants to watch these crummy games? I just want to watch the end,” he said in a stump speech. What used to be considered a great tackle, a violent head-on (tackle), a violent – if that was done by Dick Butkus, they’d say he’s the greatest player. If that were done by Lawrence Taylor- it was done by Lawrence Taylor and Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke, right? Ray Nitschke – you used to see these tackles and it was incredible to watch, right?
Now in February 2019, President Trump stated;
On the eve of Super Bowl LIII weekend, he admitted that he wasn’t sure he would want his youngest son to play the game because of “the reports that I see coming out having to do with football.” Trump added that he remains a football fan and said that, while equipment has been improved, “it hasn’t solved the problem,” speaking presumably of chronic traumatic encephalopathy and other cognitive issues that players suffer. I think the NFL is a great product, but I really think that as far as my son, well, I’ve heard NFL players saying they wouldn’t let their sons play football. So. It’s not totally unique, but I, I would have a hard time with it.” (chicagotribune.com)