Days after the president revealed that the Philadelphia Eagles running back was among a number of well-known sportsmen on the Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, Saquon Barkley has announced that he will not be joining the council. “I turned down an invitation,” Barkley remarked.
The council was established by an executive order signed by Mr. Trump last week, which also revived the Presidential Fitness Test for American children, which was discontinued under the Obama administration but started in 1966.
Speaking from the White House last Thursday, Mr. Trump announced that Barkley was a member of the council. He was joined by a number of well-known players, both past and present, as well as other sports leaders.
Barkley says he declined an invitation to join the group at his press conference on Monday at Eagles training camp. He said:
“A couple of months ago, it was brought to my team about the council,”. “So, I’m not really too familiar with it. I felt like that I’m going to be super busy [with the football season], so me and my family thought it probably was in our best interest to not accept that. [I] was definitely a little shocked when my name was mentioned, but I’m assuming it’s something great. But [I] was a little shocked when my name was mentioned.”
Mr. Trump also asserted on Thursday that the group, which may consist of as many as 30 members, will develop the standards for a Presidential Fitness Award and assist in addressing a number of collegiate athletics-related concerns. The President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition was the council’s previous name.
