PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley has declined an invitation to join President Donald Trump’s council on sports, fitness, and nutrition, which is being revitalized under an executive order that also reestablishes the Presidential Fitness Test for American children.
Barkley, the 2,000-yard rusher for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, was on a list of sports personalities that included golfers Bryson DeChambeau and Nelly Korda, WWE executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque, football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor and retired New York Yankees great Mariano Rivera.
Barkley said Monday following Eagles’ practice that he had actually declined the invitation.
“A couple 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 am going to be super busy. Me and my family thought it would probably be of best interest to not accept that. I was definitely a little shocked when my name was mentioned. I’m assuming it’s something great, so I appreciate it but was a little shocked when my name was mentioned.”
Trump last week reestablished the Presidential Fitness Test for American children, a fixture of public schools for decades that gauged young people’s health and athleticism with 1-mile runs, sit-ups and stretching exercises.
“This is a wonderful tradition, and we’re bringing it back,” Trump said of the fitness test that began in 1966 but was phased out during the Obama administration.
The executive order also reinvigorated the national sports council that could have included Barkley.
Barkley won AP Offensive Player of the Year last season after rushing for 2,005 yards, eighth-best in NFL history, in his first season with the Eagles.
Barkley has golfed with Trump and former President Barack Obama over the last year and the running back attended the White House celebration of the champion Eagles while some teammates — notably star quarterback Jalen Hurts — skipped the ceremony.
Barkley visited Trump in April at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and caught a ride with the president to Washington on Air Force One and then to the White House on Marine One.
“He loved it,” Trump said then of Barkley’s short flight on the presidential airplane. “He’s a great young guy and an incredible football player. Saquon had a season for the ages, running behind the most powerful offensive line in the NFL.”
Barkley, meanwhile, pushed back on social media criticism following the visit. He noted that he had already golfed with Obama, a Democrat.
“Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand,” Barkley posted on X.
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