On Thursday afternoon’s CNN Newsroom, host John King conspired with sports analyst Christine Brennan to politicize and fearmonger about the Big Ten announcing that it is playing football this fall. Brennan, resembling a Democratic operative more than a sports journalist, accused President Trump of pushing the Big Ten presidents into “steering their student athletes right into the teeth of COVID and the flu in October and November” in order to gain votes in “Michigan or Ohio or Wisconsin or Pennsylvania.”
King began the segment by praising the “blunt” Brennan for writing an absurd article where she claimed that the Big Ten deciding to play “the darkest day in Big Ten sports history.”
Brennan, who claimed on CNN this summer that college athletes “will die on the field,” engaged in unscientific fearmongering by claiming that the Big Ten “sold out for football”:
The Big Ten chose football over everything else. The -- the fact that the football players, John, are going to receive the rapid antigen testing. What about the fellow students on campus who can't get that? Michigan State quarantining -- so many other problems in the Big Ten. What about the towns people in those beautiful Big Ten cities like Evanston and Arbor and Columbus, do they get them? The professor's -- on and on it goes and I just think the Big Ten sold out for football and I'm -- I’m happy to say it.
Several other conferences have been playing since the beginning of September and while there has been spread of the virus, there have been no deaths or even hospitalizations. This is because college age students are more likely to die from the seasonal flu than from COVID. In fact, several programs that have played, including Iowa State, are in the same state as Big Ten schools. Why can Iowa State play safely but not Iowa?
Furthermore, Big Ten players, led by star Ohio State quarterback, Justin Fields, have expressed their desire to play. Who is CNN to tell them that they should not play? Oh that’s right, CNN only cares about spreading fear porn in order to undermine the Trump administration.
King then enthused over Brennan politicizing the Big Ten deciding to play:
And so like everything else coronavirus collides with our election, sports collides with our election, coronavirus is disrupting everything in our lives. You make this connection: “We could call it the Trumpeting of the Big Ten. It was just two weeks ago that Trump, desperate to win votes in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, told the conference to play football. I never would have expected the Big Ten presidents to be so shaky, so fearful, so afraid of their own shadow.” You think in the end, some Republican governors jumped in too, some of the players wanted to play, the coaches wanted to play. But you see the President's thumb on this.
Brennan responded with a deranged rant in which she accused Trump of pushing athletes into the “teeth of COVID” in order to win votes in swing states:
I do. And the President sees the President's thumb on this, John. As we know that there was an off the record briefing yesterday about this. So he's taking a victory lap whether it means anything in terms of votes that he desperately needs in Michigan or Ohio or Wisconsin or Pennsylvania. We'll see. But again, there’s -- there are adults in the room and then the presidents of the Big Ten schools. And you're now steering football, which by the way, I love college football. I haven't missed a Northwestern bowl game and who knows that knew I would even say those words back in the day and eight years I think. I -- I love -- love college football. But you've got these presidents now steering their student athletes right into the teeth of COVID and the flu in October and November.
Never mind that Joe Biden politicized the issue by blaming Trump for college football not happening.
CNN does not care about facts but about doing anything it can to help Joe Biden in November, which means unscientific fearmongering.
This unscientific nonsense was brought to viewers by Liberty Mutual and Tums. Let them know here if you think they should be sponsoring this content.
Read the full September 17th transcript here:
CNN Newsroom
09/19/20
12:55:1:00 PM
JOHN KING: The Big Ten conference now planning to play football this fall; reversing after a ton of pressure including from the White House. A decision made last month to postpone play because of the coronavirus pandemic. Joining us now, CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan. Christine, you're never shy but in your column in USA Today you're pretty blunt. You call this the darkest day in Big Ten sports history. And you say this is the potential chaos the Big Ten chose when it decided to sell its soul for a few football games. Why do you feel that way?
CHRISTINE BRENNAN (CNN SPORTS ANALYST): John, I'm a product of the Big Ten. Grew up in Toledo, Ohio, as you know. Went to Michigan games all through my childhood, season tickets at Michigan football games. A Northwestern grad, undergrad and masters and I-- full disclosure -- I am a member of the 64 person Northwestern Board of Trustees. I played absolutely no role. I had no votes, no input whatsoever on the decision that Northwestern and the Big Ten made yesterday. But the Big Ten has always been -- has always said anyway, it's about more. It's -- it’s about academics. It's about the fabulous research institutions that make up the Big Ten. It sits closer to the Ivy League, many think -- certainly Northwestern thinks then maybe the SEC. And yesterday showed us that's not the case. That's not the case. The Big Ten chose football over everything else. The -- the fact that the football players, John, are going to receive the rapid antigen testing. What about the fellow students on campus who can't get that? Michigan State quarantining -- so many other problems in the Big Ten. What about the towns people in those beautiful Big Ten cities like Evanston and Arbor and Columbus, do they get them? The professor's -- on and on it goes and I just think the Big Ten sold out for football and I'm -- I’m happy to say it.
KING: And so like everything else coronavirus collides with our election, sports collides with our election, coronavirus is disrupting everything in our lives. You make this connection: “We could call it the Trumpeting of the Big Ten. It was just two weeks ago that Trump, desperate to win votes in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, told the conference to play football. I never would have expected the Big Ten presidents to be so shaky, so fearful, so afraid of their own shadow.” You think in the end, some Republican governors jumped in too, some of the players wanted to play, the coaches wanted to play. But you see the President's thumb on this.
BRENNAN: I do. And the President sees the President's thumb on this, John. As we know that there was an off the record briefing yesterday about this. So he's taking a victory lap whether it means anything in terms of votes that he desperately needs in Michigan or Ohio or Wisconsin or Pennsylvania. We'll see. But again, there’s -- there are adults in the room and then the presidents of the Big Ten schools. And you're now steering football, which by the way, I love college football. I haven't missed a Northwestern bowl game and who knows that knew I would even say those words back in the day and eight years I think. I -- I love -- love college football. But you've got these presidents now steering their student athletes right into the teeth of COVID and the flu in October and November. And just today, and I -- I wish I were wrong, I wish this could happen. Just today, UNC Charlotte said it had to cancel its game with North Carolina Chapel Hill this week, because it didn't have any offensive lineman because of one COVID positive and then contact tracing. It sounds like something right out of a Mel Brooks movie, no offensive lineman available for a football game. But it's not funny. And again, that's the decision the Big Ten made and they have every right to make it of course. But to go for football as opposed to being correct and -- and sitting back and watching some of the problems elsewhere and saying, hey, we made the right decision. We did not roll the dice. But to go for football as opposed to being correct and sitting back and watching some of the problems elsewhere and saying, hey, we made the right decision, we did not roll the dice in health and safety of our student athletes.
KING: Christine Brennan, I appreciate your insight.
