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Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins said he is taking a “survival of the fittest” approach to COVID-19, even if it kills him.
Channeling Ivan Drago, Cousins said, “If I die, I die,” during a recent interview on Spotify’s “10 Questions with Kyle Brandt” podcast. “I kind of have peace about that,” the Minnesota Vikings quarterback added.
This whole tough-guy act from Cousins does not come off as very believable considering the way the man cooks his steaks, but that’s beside the point.
Cousins indicated in the interview that he does not believe masks work in helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, he repeatedly said he also tries to respects others’ “concerns” about the virus.
Brandt asked Cousins to rate his level of concern over contracting the virus on a 1-10 scale, with 1 being “the person who says, ‘Masks are stupid, you’re all a bunch of lemmings’ and 10 is, ‘I’m not leaving my master bathroom for the next 10 years.'”
Cousins said in reply, “I’m not gonna call anybody stupid, for the trouble it would get me in. But I’m about a .000001.”
When asked to elaborate on his answer, Cousins said:
“I want to respect what other people’s concerns are. For me personally, just talking no one else can get the virus, what is your concern if you could get it, I would say I’m gonna go about my daily life. If I get it, I’m gonna ride it out. I’m gonna let nature do its course. 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.”
Cousins went on to say that for him, wearing a mask “is really about being respectful to other people.”
“It really has nothing to do with my personal thoughts,” he added.
Earlier during the interview, Brandt asked Cousins what the general reaction would be if a teammate sneezed in the huddle.
“I even think within the building, there’s gonna be a dichotomy of people who couldn’t care less about the virus, have no concern about it, have never lost a minute of sleep about it,” he said. “And then you get people on the other side of the spectrum who, every second of every day, they’re consumed with fear about it.”
“What you don’t know is who’s where on the spectrum when you first go back,” Cousins said.
The NFL recently updated its game-day protocols by requiring every coach and staff member in the bench area to wear a mask. Additionally, teams are required to reduce the size of each of their travel parties.
The league and the NFL Players Association announced on September 2 that a total of 10 players and team personnel tested positive for the virus during the latest testing period of August 21-29.
According to the league’s data, a total of 8,739 players and personnel were given 58,621 tests during the August 21-29 time period. 23,270 tests were given to 2,747 players while 35,342 tests were given to 5,992 team personnel.
