Kirk Cousins is the quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings. An “out” Christian, he has sometimes been targeted by liberal sportswriters. Several weeks ago, he gave an interview on a podcast that apparently was released today. The interview gave rise to a story in City Pages, a weekly tabloid-style rag that doesn’t pretend to do actual journalism. City Pages tweeted:
Kirk Cousins says COVID-19 masks are stupid: ‘If I die, I die’ https://t.co/0X9PlggQXE #SKOL pic.twitter.com/W0ePB2iMMK
— City Pages (@citypages) September 2, 2020
Jim Souhan is a left-wing sportswriter for the Star Tribune. Like many sportswriters, his columns suggest that he wishes he were a news columnist so that he could give free rein to his liberal biases. Apparently relying on nothing but the City Pages tweet, he piled on Cousins:
Kirk Cousins is anti mask. The guy responsible for making split second decisions can’t think straight. Man, I miss Teddy Bridgewater.
— Jim Souhan (@SouhanStrib) September 2, 2020
Former Vikings linebacker and current broadcaster Ben Leber pointed out that Cousins didn’t say the quote that was attributed to him by City Pages:
He didn’t say that! Read the whole transcript 🤬
This is irresponsible reporting! https://t.co/bXBFr2oV3a— Ben Leber (@nacholeber) September 2, 2020
This individual posted the actual transcript of Cousins’ comments:
In an apparent weeks-old interview published today on @KyleBrandt‘s podcast, Kirk Cousins talked about respecting concerns around COVID-19 and his personal thoughts. pic.twitter.com/hrrtBZB29A
— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) September 2, 2020
It would be hard to be more reasonable that that, on the bizarre issue of wearing face masks in a pro football huddle. And City Pages has now corrected its careless headline:
Correction: A previous version of this blog post used the headline “Kirk Cousins says COVID-19 masks are stupid: ‘If I die, I die,’” yet Cousins only suggested as much with his numerical answer. City Pages regrets the error.
But the insanity of today’s political environment has fully penetrated the world of sports. Which means that Cousins and the Vikings had to call a hasty press conference so reporters could grill the quarterback on his opinions on face masks:
LIVE: QB @KirkCousins8 addresses the media https://t.co/Bi05XOcCzW
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 2, 2020
Cousins did an excellent job of answering the reporters’ questions, but this teapot tempest is today’s reminder–one among many, unfortunately–that we live in a world gone mad.
