Saquon Barkley says he will not be on President Trump’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, days after the president claimed the Philadelphia Eagles’ running back was one of a group of prominent athletes on the panel. Barkley said he declined an invite.
Mr. Trump signed an executive order last week establishing the council and reviving the Presidential Fitness Test for American children, which began in 1966 but was phased out during the Obama administration.
Speaking from the White House last Thursday, joined by several prominent former and current athletes and other figures in sports, Mr. Trump said Barkley was on the council.
During his press conference at Eagles training camp on Monday, Barkley said he did not accept an invitation to join the council.
“A couple of months ago, it was brought to my team about the council,” Barkley said. “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.”
On Thursday, Mr. Trump also claimed the council will have up to 30 members who will create the criteria for a Presidential Fitness Award and help work on various issues in college athletics. The council was formally known as the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be responsible for administering the fitness test, which will include children running and performing situps, pullups, or pushups, and doing a sit-and-reach test.
Barkley was spotted golfing with Mr. Trump in April before the Eagles’ White House visit, celebrating the team’s Super Bowl LIX win. The Eagles’ running back faced backlash on social media and later responded to the criticism.
Barkley was among a group of Eagles who attended the White House, though many prominent members, including Jalen Hurts, of the Super Bowl team, skipped the visit with the president.
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