President jumped to his Truth Social account on Sunday to announce his displeasure with the NFL’s new kickoff rules, calling it “sissy football.”
“The NFL has to get rid of that ridiculous looking new Kickoff Rule. How can they make such a big and sweeping change so easily and quickly,” the president wrote.
“It’s at least as dangerous as the ‘normal’ kickoff, and looks like hell,” he continued. “The ball is moving, and the players are not, the exact opposite of what football is all about. ‘Sissy’ football is bad for America, and bad for the NFL! ”
“Who comes up with these ridiculous ideas? It’s like wanting to ‘roll back’ the golf ball so it doesn’t go (nearly!) as far. Fortunately, college football will remain the same, hopefully forever!!” he concluded.
The rules change was implemented to improve player safety and to avoid as many head-on collisions between players as possible, the New York Post noted. The league also hoped that the rule would make kickoffs more exciting by creating more chances to return the ball.
With the rule, players cannot begin running until the kicked ball hits the ground, or a player at the 20-yard line touches the ball.
However, despite the league’s hopes, ball returns have dropped since implementing the rule. In 2023, 21.8 percent of balls were returned. But last season, that climbed to 32.8 percent.
Still, the NFL has countered that the main goal has been achieved, and the rate of concussions from return plays dropped by 43 percent.
Trump has slammed the kickoff rule before. He also posted a criticism of it during the recent Super Bowl.
“The worst part of the Super Bowl, by far, was watching the Kickoff where, as the ball is sailing through the air, the entire field is frozen, stiff,” Trump wrote early this year. “College Football does not do it, and won’t! Whose idea was it to ruin the Game?”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: Facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston, or at X/Twitter @WTHuston
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