Donald Trump blasted the NFL’s “softer” rules about concussions on Wednesday, saying his campaign supporters are tougher than some pro football players.
The Republican presidential nominee made the comments at an outdoor rally in Lakeland, Florida, after he saw a woman in the audience faint.
“Is there a doctor in the house?” Mr. Trump said at the podium while pointing at the woman. “We gotta take care of people. … They stand here for hours.”
“That woman was out cold and now she is coming back,” Mr. Trump said later in his speech. “See, we don’t go by these new, and very much softer, NFL rules.
“Concussions — ’Uh oh, got a little ding on the head? No, no, you can’t play for the rest of the season’ — our people are tough,” he said.
Mr. Trump also boasted about his own stamina in the run-up to the election, CNN reported.
“I may be limping home by the finish line, but we are going to get there,” he said.
Susan H. Connors, president and chief executive of the nonprofit group Brain Injury Association of America, criticized Mr. Trump’s comments in a statement Wednesday, saying all brain injuries should be taken seriously.
“As the nation’s oldest and largest brain injury advocacy organization, BIAA is disappointed in Mr. Trump’s ridicule of the NFL’s concussion protocols and especially of his connotation that those who sustain a concussion are weak,” she said.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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