In 2013, President Barack Obama said he would think twice before letting a hypothetical son play football. He made the comment in an interview with The New Republic while discussing the dangers of head injuries in American football.
Obama was the father of two daughters, Malia and Sasha, so the question was hypothetical. He said he loved football and understood its cultural importance, but he also worried about concussions and the long-term effects of repeated blows to the head.
The remark appeared during a period of growing public attention to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a brain disease associated with repeated head trauma. Former players’ medical cases and lawsuits had pushed football safety into national debate.
The answer is sometimes confused with a later comment by Donald Trump, who said in 2019 that he would have a hard time allowing his son Barron to play football. Obama’s statement came earlier, in 2013, and referred to a hypothetical son.