NFL QB Kirk Cousins on contracting coronavirus: ‘If I die, I die’

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins commented on contracting coronavirus  Wednesday, saying, “If I die, I die.”

The NFL quarterback told the “Ringer” podcast “10 Questions With Kyle Brandt” that he personally is not concerned about the coronavirus but he wants to “respect what other people’s concerns are.”

Brandt, the podcast host, asked Cousins what his concern about COVID-19 was on a scale of one to 10, defining one as “the person who says, ‘Masks are stupid, you’re all a bunch of lemmings’” and 10 as “‘I’m not leaving my master bathroom for the next 10 years.’”

“I’m not going to call anybody stupid, for the trouble it could get me in. But I’m about a .000001,” the football player answered.

“I want to respect what other people’s concerns are,” he said. “For me personally, if you’re just talking no one else can get the virus, what is your concern if you could get it, I would say I’m going to go about my daily life.”

“If I get it, I’m going to ride it out. I’m going to let nature do its course,” Cousins said. “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.”

“That’s really where I fall on it, so my opinion of wearing a mask is really being respectful to other people. It really has nothing to do with my own personal thoughts,” he continued.

The NFL is preparing to kick off its season this month in a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans. At least seven officials have opted out of the 2020 season due to concerns about the coronavirus.

The NFL Players Association reached a deal with the NFL in late July on adding health protections for players after several had expressed concerns.

Several teams have announced that fans will not be allowed in the stadiums at the beginning of the season, including the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets and Washington, D.C.’s football team. But other teams like the Miami Dolphins will host a limited number of fans during games.

The Vikings announced they will play their first two home games without fans, according to ESPN.

In the U.S., officials have confirmed more than 6 million cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic and 184,747 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.