Kirk's Stumble

[RandyMoss84]

Wasn't a fan of him even before he came to Minn. I certainly don't like him now.

I'm a huge fan of him as a player first and as a person second. Go Kirk, Go Vikings.

Good because I am tired of hearing about bashing of Kirk, I swear Viking fans act like Kirk is Christian Ponder

[StanM]

Anyone who is so offended by Kirk's choice of words and expression of his faith probably shouldn't be watching grown 300 pound men clash into each other either. I'm not religious personally but I understood right away where he was coming from. I have heard opinions of the virus and masking that would burn ears if anyone thinks what Kirk said regarding his personal opinion was scandalous.

Let's all calm down. We could have been discussing another "love boat" incident or "whipping a child with a switch" instead of arguing about someone who is following all of the protocols required by the Vikings organization. If I were to expect every athlete on every professional sports team to walk in lock step with me I'd never watch any sports.

[S197]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and he’s not infringing on anyone else by abiding by the rules. And that’s really the important thing to me, you wear a mask to save others, not yourself. So while COVID may not be a big deal to him, he realizes it’s a big deal to others and acts accordingly.

Being a public figure I would have liked if he kept the .0001 comment to himself but it’s his 1st amendment right to express his feelings. As long as he does it behind a mask and while social distancing, it is what it is.

But you do wear a mask to save yourself as well to control the spread. It prevents you from touching your face when you're out. And if he really thought wearing a mask was a big deal to others, he wouldn't have ridiculed mask wearers with his .0001 comment. Being a public figure with kids looking up to him, he has an obligation (correction, he should look at it as an obligation or an opportunity) to say the right things in front of a camera. Unless he wants to be a D**K which is what he's doing.

I'm not a medical professional but my understanding is a virus is 100x smaller than bacteria. So anything short of an N95 grade mask is too permeable to stop the virus from passing through. What the mask does is limit the distance much larger liquid droplets travel, which the virus can hitch a ride on. Stopping you from touching your face is debatable, some feel it makes you touch your face more because people fiddle with it. All I know is most of the medical community agrees the reason you wear a mask is for everyone else's benefit, not so much your own.

I understand what you're saying about his comments and I'm sure some people will use his statement to push an anti-mask agenda, which is unfortunate. But at the end of the day he's entitled to his beliefs and he's not letting those beliefs infringe on the safety of others. While I disagree with them personally, I accept them since he is being mindful of others.

[Purple Domination]

Kirk’s mentality is similar to mine and it makes me like him more for it. I respect the fact that he has his own opinion, but is still courteous enough to wear a mask and protect others from a virus of which he is not overly fearful.

[Passepartout]

Well he made a mistake. Just move on. Live and learn!

[808vikingsfan]

The death rate among 30-39 year olds is .2 %. The vast majority of those had underlying conditions, which Cousins doesn't have. His risk of death is incredibly low, although I am not sure about that .00001 number. That isn't being an antivaxxer or a moron, that is reality.

Are people upset because not everyone falls into the same category as Kirk and it feels like he doesn't care if others get it? I didn't get that from the interview at all, as he was talking about himself. My guess is if he got Covid, he would quarantine and follow the directions of the CDC, just like I had to do with my son when he had contact with someone with Covid. There is being at peace with death, and there is being reckless. I don't think Kirk is being reckless, he just believes in a higher power and that death isn't the final destination.

You can still be careful and not live in fear of death.

His death comment doesn't bother me. I'm upset when he said this:

Cousins was first asked by Brandt: “On that spectrum, if 1 is 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, where do you land?”

“I’m not going to call anybody stupid for the trouble it could get me in,” Cousins said, “but I’m about a 0.000001.

The only reason he's not calling mask wearers stupid is because he doesn't want to get in to trouble. As the face of the franchise, I think he's showing zero respect for all the people who risk their lives fighting against this virus. Defend him all you want.

[808vikingsfan]

But you do wear a mask to save yourself as well to control the spread. It prevents you from touching your face when you're out. And if he really thought wearing a mask was a big deal to others, he wouldn't have ridiculed mask wearers with his .0001 comment. Being a public figure with kids looking up to him, he has an obligation (correction, he should look at it as an obligation or an opportunity) to say the right things in front of a camera. Unless he wants to be a D**K which is what he's doing.

I'm not a medical professional but my understanding is a virus is 100x smaller than bacteria. So anything short of an N95 grade mask is too permeable to stop the virus from passing through. What the mask does is limit the distance much larger liquid droplets travel, which the virus can hitch a ride on. Stopping you from touching your face is debatable, some feel it makes you touch your face more because people fiddle with it. All I know is most of the medical community agrees the reason you wear a mask is for everyone else's benefit, not so much your own.

I understand what you're saying about his comments and I'm sure some people will use his statement to push an anti-mask agenda, which is unfortunate. But at the end of the day he's entitled to his beliefs and he's not letting those beliefs infringe on the safety of others. While I disagree with them personally, I accept them since he is being mindful of others.

I'm sure Kirk has a good sense of security where he works. He's in a controlled environment where everyone (including himself) gets tested daily. He doesn't have to work near potentially infected customers or patients all day long like most essential workers do.

At the end of the day, he's the face of this franchise and like it or not, has influence on how some people think. His comments (about the mask wearers) are selfish and ignorant.

As far as wearing a mask for both protection and to limit spread. If done correctly, wearing a mask protects you and others. I don't think that's debatable. Plus, it's harder to bite your nails, dig your nose, lick your fingers, pick your teeth, when you have a mask on. Id say thats much worse than just adjusting your mask.

[StumpHunter]

The death rate among 30-39 year olds is .2 %. The vast majority of those had underlying conditions, which Cousins doesn't have. His risk of death is incredibly low, although I am not sure about that .00001 number. That isn't being an antivaxxer or a moron, that is reality.

Are people upset because not everyone falls into the same category as Kirk and it feels like he doesn't care if others get it? I didn't get that from the interview at all, as he was talking about himself. My guess is if he got Covid, he would quarantine and follow the directions of the CDC, just like I had to do with my son when he had contact with someone with Covid. There is being at peace with death, and there is being reckless. I don't think Kirk is being reckless, he just believes in a higher power and that death isn't the final destination.

You can still be careful and not live in fear of death.

His death comment doesn't bother me. I'm upset when he said this:

Cousins was first asked by Brandt: “On that spectrum, if 1 is 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, where do you land?”

“I’m not going to call anybody stupid for the trouble it could get me in,” Cousins said, “but I’m about a 0.000001.

The only reason he's not calling mask wearers stupid is because he doesn't want to get in to trouble. As the face of the franchise, I think he's showing zero respect for all the people who risk their lives fighting against this virus. Defend him all you want.

That is still referring to his personal fear of Covid and has nothing to do with anyone risking their lives against the virus. It was a question about fear of the virus, and he said he isn't afraid. I am as critical of Cousins as anyone, but this is ridiculous.

[vikeinmontana]

Loved everything about what he said. And he did it in away clarifying it was just his opinion several times.

And it's not like it's just him and other dumb athletes sharing this view. There are a lot of us...to some extent at least. Hell, my sister is a bigwig at Sanford in Fargo and her and many of her staff share similar feelings.

Like Kirk, I wear a mask everywhere I'm required to. I accept the science that they likely help. Though I can't speak for other states, but in Montana I know that our cases have remained about the same, even a little higher this last week, since they implemented mask wearing everywhere. So I wear one as respect to others, though my fear of this virus couldn't possibly be lower.

The stats don't lie. If you're older than 70, and have other health issues, this virus should have your attention. Hunker down, avoid people, wash hands, wear a mask. But this group makes up about 90% of the deaths last I checked. What Kirk said is true. And while he has that opinion, he's wearing a mask if it is said to help protect other people.

I maintain that at risk folks, or those that are very fearful of the virus should hunker down and take the steps suggested. The rest of us should be allowed to get on with it. The most frustrating thing to me is there isn't an end game. No plan. We could be asked to continue doing all these things for months or years. Even with a vaccine, the virus will always be here. Some will get it. Might even get sick. In rare cases they will be hospitalized and rarer cases they will die.

[VikingsVictorious]

Kirk’s mentality is similar to mine and it makes me like him more for it. I respect the fact that he has his own opinion, but is still courteous enough to wear a mask and protect others from a virus of which he is not overly fearful.

Yep. IMO we all need to move forward with our lives while taking reasonable precautions. Many people are so fearful they believe we shouldn't be playing any professional sports at all. The numbers so far are indicating that a far lower percentage of athletes are getting the virus than the population at large. Playing professional sports is totally safe and it's IMO something we need.

[fiestavike]

Yep. Nothing burger here. No problem with anything Kirk Cousins said.

[Cliff]

Kirk’s mentality is similar to mine and it makes me like him more for it. I respect the fact that he has his own opinion, but is still courteous enough to wear a mask and protect others from a virus of which he is not overly fearful.

Yep. IMO we all need to move forward with our lives while taking reasonable precautions. Many people are so fearful they believe we shouldn't be playing any professional sports at all. The numbers so far are indicating that a far lower percentage of athletes are getting the virus than the population at large. Playing professional sports is totally safe and it's IMO something we need.

Kirk's opinion aside ... playing professional sports isn't going to be totally safe. That's absurd. Going to the grocery store wearing a mask and staying 6 feet apart isn't "totally safe". These guys are all over each other out there. The linemen spend the entire game in each others face and hugging. If one or two people have it then it'll spread quickly in those conditions.

I don't know what that means for the season. If players are willing to risk it then whatever but downplaying it so far as to call it "totally safe" is so wrong it can't go without mention.

If the players want to play then I'll watch. If they don't I'll understand and do something else. Nobody "needs" it. If the NFL and all professional sports collapsed tomorrow and ceased to exist (as it has been most of human history) we would all find other things to do with our time and money. This whole "we need professional sports or we'll wither and die!" mentality is clever marketing.

[YikesVikes]

It's not just about having an opinion. Its about continuing to push stupidity. His voice is amplified and impacts others. Someone doing coke on an offday (trying to be hidden) is not the samething as magnifying ignorance. This nation is crumblining because we are promoting stupidity instead of common sense/intelligence. Giving a voice to antivaxxers and other morons are why American exceptionalism is dying.

Riddle me this.

You use the words "antivaxxers and other morons."

I'm not an "antivaxxer." However, it will be a cold day in hell before I will willingly allow anyone to inject into my body a vaccine that has been fast-tracked by the FDA with no understanding of long-term side effects. Does that make me a moron?

There is nothing wrong with what Kirk said. Even though he's not concerned for himself, he wears a mask and follows Covid protocols because he cares about others. In fact, I would hold his attitude up as one that we all would do well to emulate. It's certainly a better attitude than, say, a certain congresswoman from California who blithely made herself an appointment at a salon for a wash and blow dry, even though the Covid rules in her state have put every salon owner out of business.

Bottom line: Kirk stated his feelings, then went out of his way to acknowledge the feelings and beliefs of those who don't think the way he does. Can you say the same? Asking for a moron friend.

My antivaxxers comment was not about this vaccine. It's about those people that believe that refuse to vaccinate their children from Mumps, Measles and Polio. Everyone tries to skip over the .00001 comment. That's the issue. That's the lack of empathy that he has shown that people always leave out. He basically said people are stupid for wearing masks. He and his family have not been personally affected so it doesn't register to him that it is lifesaving for others. When you have to look people in their eyes as they drop off their family member to the hospital and you already know they will never see this person again.... you feel differently about mask wearing. I resent anyone that holds that stance. It's childish, no matter how much he tried to clean it up after.

[YikesVikes]

Everyone is making this such a big deal. You can’t say anything anymore without someone getting ticked off. It really frustrates me with his the media and some people are in general in today’s world

I find that people are only understanding to their stance. Hate kneeling? When someone speaks against kneeling it's valid criticism. Hate masks? When someone speaks about people not wearing them, it's complaining. All about what your stance is.

[YikesVikes]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and he’s not infringing on anyone else by abiding by the rules. And that’s really the important thing to me, you wear a mask to save others, not yourself. So while COVID may not be a big deal to him, he realizes it’s a big deal to others and acts accordingly.

Being a public figure I would have liked if he kept the .0001 comment to himself but it’s his 1st amendment right to express his feelings. As long as he does it behind a mask and while social distancing, it is what it is.

But you do wear a mask to save yourself as well to control the spread. It prevents you from touching your face when you're out. And if he really thought wearing a mask was a big deal to others, he wouldn't have ridiculed mask wearers with his .0001 comment. Being a public figure with kids looking up to him, he has an obligation (correction, he should look at it as an obligation or an opportunity) to say the right things in front of a camera. Unless he wants to be a D**K which is what he's doing.

Exactly. 190,000 people have died due to this disease. People act like that's normal.