Wednesday, Spotify released an episode of โ10 Questionsโ that included a month old interview with Vikings QB Kirk Cousins. It was during the interview that Cousins drew criticism for his flippant response to a few questions regarding the Coronavirus that has changed the way the World approaches everyday life.
During the interview, Cousins seemed to take an Ivan Drago approach to the seriousness of the virus saying โif I die, I dieโ and that โI kind of have peace about that.โ
Cousins tried to clarify some of his comments later Wednesday (via USA Today):
โAdmittedly, I did not use the best wording and certainly couldโve articulated it better,โ Cousins said. โBut the heart behind it is no different than it is today.
โAdmittedly, I probably wasnโt as clear as I wouldโve liked to have been,โ Cousins added. โBut 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, thereโs 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 set in place, obviously to be considerate and respectful of other people.โ
He added that it was also important โto be available for all 16 games this fallโ but that there were โplenty of reasons to wear a mask, social distance and be very diligent to help stop the spread of the virus.โ
โI have peace,โ Cousins said later. โI donโt believe that I control the outcome of my life. Thereโs many things out of my control, but obviously my faith is at the foundation of my life, and I trust the Lord to handle things. If something happens, I trust him to have a plan and a purpose, even to use a pain, a setback, an adversity โ to use that to help grow me and teach me more about Him.โ
Okay, Iโm still not sure Cousins even clarified himself very well, considering some of his follow up questions during the interview.
Podcast host Kyle Brandt then asked Cousins: โOn that spectrum, if 1 is the person who says, โMasks are stupid, youโre all a bunch of lemmings,โ and 10 is, โIโm not leaving my master bathroom for the next 10 years,โ where do you land?โ
Cousins replied: โIโm not gonna call anybody stupid, for the trouble it would get me in, but Iโm about a .000001.โ
For the record, I like Kirk Cousins. I like his quaint attitude in most cases and I was a fan of his when he was at Michigan State. But it seems like the Minnesota QB is taking a nonsensical conservative approach to this that continues to hamper the United States from actually generating some real progress in combating this deadly virus. It really feels like Cousins is a statement away from citing flu or suicide death rates as justification as to why we shouldnโt be taking COVID-19 as seriously as we are. Or posting some clown show Info Wars article on why wearing a mask is more detrimental to your health because of CO2.
I mean, despite his so-called โclarificationโ Cousins still essentially said that wearing a mask is stupid. Not to mention, Cousins seems to be falling victim to that false narrative that COVID-19 is some virus that you only need to worry about for yourself. Wearing a mask is more so out of concern for other people and keeping the spread down based on that notion alone.
