Trump Appoints Incredible Hulk, Athletes, and Dr. Oz to Sports Panel

[DonViejo]

Source: New York Magazine




By Adam K. Raymond

May 4, 2018
2:33 pm

The White House on Friday announced a slate of appointments to President Trump’s “Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition,” and it reads like the casting announcement for the latest season of Celebrity Apprentice. There’s a reason for that: A handful of the appointees were once contestants on the show.

Among those who once “worked” for Trump on NBC and will now “work” for Trump on this largely ceremonial panel are former Yankees and Red Sox outfielder Johnny Damon, bodybuilder and Incredible Hulk actor Lou Ferrigno, former NFL running back Herschel Walker, and pro golfer Natalie Gulbis.

The rest of the panel is made up of business and nonprofit types, along with New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and TV doctor Mehmet Oz.

Link to tweet

The naming of the council’s members comes several months after Trump signed an executive order shuffling the name of the body so the word “sports” came first. It was a small change but it was cheered on the right, where Trump’s fans interpreted it as a middle finger to Michelle Obama and her efforts to promote individual exercise and healthy eating. Now the council will now promote participation in team sports instead. Wouldn’t want kids only spending their time on individual sports and growing up to look like this.

###



Read more: https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/05/trump-appoints-incredible-hulk-and-dr-oz-to-sports-panel.html

[LisaM]

1. Good grief.

This looks like a train wreck waiting to happen. It also seems to include a few - or more than a few - PED users. This is not going to go well. I can't even imagine there'll be one actual "meeting" for this group.

[handmade34]

2. subtle but important differences...

interpreted it as a middle finger to Michelle Obama and her efforts to promote individual exercise and healthy eating

(DT) By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to promote the economic, academic, and social benefits of youth sports, fitness, and nutrition, it is hereby ordered as follows:

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), in carrying out the Secretary’s responsibilities for public health and human services, shall develop a national strategy to expand children’s participation in youth sports, encourage regular physical activity, including active play, and promote good nutrition for all Americans. This national strategy shall focus on children and youth in communities with below-average sports participation and communities with limited access to athletic facilities or recreational areas.

(Obama) By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to recognize that good nutrition goes hand in hand with fitness and sports participation, Executive Order 13265 of June 6, 2002, is hereby amended as follows:

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), in carrying out the Secretary's responsibilities for public health and human services, shall develop and coordinate a national program to enhance physical activity, fitness, sports participation, and good nutrition. Through this program, the Secretary shall, in consultation with the Secretaries of Agriculture and Education,....

In implementing this order, the Secretary shall be guided by the science-based Federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Additionally, the Secretary shall undertake nutrition related activities under this order in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Borowitz?

[underpants]

4. Gulbis's famous trophy pic

[turbinetree]

8. OMG

[llmart]

5. Egads!

Dr. Oz the snake oil salesman who treats his female audiences like they're all stupid, Lou Ferrigno who I think is about 99 years old, and on and on.

"Only the best".

[BumRushDaShow]

6. "Lou Ferrigno who I think is about 99 years old"

That's just wrong.

(he'll be 67 this year)

Used to watch the show because I was a Bill Bixby fan.

Now if he had somehow convinced Schwarzenegger to reprise his role from when he was part of that Council under Poppy, then you'd be talking about someone closer to 99.

[Brother Buzz]

16. Trump already fired Lou Ferrigno once

On a side note: I wonder how many of these people agreed to be appointed only so they can publicly quite.

[BumRushDaShow]

17. Does he really want to make him angry?

Someone might not like it when he's angry.

(I'm sorry, I had to )

[Freethinker65]

7. Let the profit making begin!

Cannot wait until Trump ridicules all of the kids that do not make the sports teams once the teams become more about competition and winning and less about fun and teamwork. For my son, that happened in about third of fourth grade.

[Maeve]

9. Honest to God, I clicked on this thinking 'it can't be really LBN'

Sure you had unexpectedly posted something in the wrong forum.....Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.

[riversedge]

13. Oz is a celebrity showman just like Trump. damn

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Trump Is Appointing TV Quack Dr. Oz to a Health Post in His Administration

Oz isn’t wasting any time in promoting his agenda, so don’t be surprised if your kids start getting "magic beans" (yes, he really promoted them) in your kids’ school lunches.
...
Just because we’re used to it now doesn’t mean it should be ignored. The appointment of Oz, who has repeatedly shown he values money over integrity and science, is a very bad sign for this country and its direction.

Oz, a heart surgeon, has come under fire in the past by other doctors and by lawmakers who say that he has promoted unscientific medical approaches on his show. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., told Oz during a hearing on weight-loss scams that “the scientific community is almost monolithic against you in terms of the efficacy of the three products you call miracles.”

Oz, who came to prominence after being promoted by Oprah Winfrey, also drew criticism in 2011 when he did a show on the alleged dangers of arsenic in apple juice and another show in 2012 that focused on turning gay people straight, a practice that has been rejected by medical associations.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2018/05/04/trump-is-appointing-tv-quack-dr-oz-to-a-health-post-in-his-administration/

[Major Nikon]

12. Coffee enemas for everyone!

[PSPS]

11. "Natalie reminds me of Ivanka"

[jmowreader]

14. Let's do a little google-fu

Who the hell did Trump inflict on the Impressionable Youth of Today?

Mariano Rivera: retired baseball pitcher
Misty May-Treanor: beach volleyball pro
Herschel Walker: retired football player

Brenda Larsen Becker: the only one I could find is an executive at Boston Scientific, which makes medical implants...including, interestingly enough, penile implants.

Bill Belichick: coach of the New England Patriots

Johnny Damon: retired major league baseball outfielder

Trevor Drinkwater: This is a strange one. IMDB says he's a movie producer. OpenSecrets says he donated $500 to the National
Republican Congressional Committee in 2006, and $1000 to Hillary Clinton in 2016. I wonder if Trump knows this.

Lou Ferrigno: retired world champion bodybuilder, actor, Celebrity Apprentice contestant

Robert Goldman: Doctor. CV looks padded as hell. Most of his publication list is anti-aging medicine.

Nan Hayworth: optometrist who was a Republican congresswoman

Matthew Hesse: runs Corr-Jensen, a company that makes dietary supplements for athletes

Ashlee Lundvall: hunts game animals from her wheelchair

Jacob Olson: This guy has an interesting story.
https://news.usc.edu/127364/meet-jake-olson-the-blind-usc-football-player-everyone-is-talking-about/
Jake Olson lost both his eyes to a rare retinal cancer. He decided to learn to play football. There's only one position a blind man can play, long snapper (the guy who throws the football to the kicker for punts, field goals and extra-point attempts), and Jake learned the position well enough to walk onto the USC football team. In 2017, he snapped in two actual games: a 49-31 win against Western Michigan (the two coaches worked it out to let him make a snap), and a 38-10 blowout over Oregon State where the coach decided to send him in. Jake is a really good kid and Trump isn't fit to shine his cleats.

Mehmet Oz: Needs no introduction.

Natalie Gulbis Rodarmel: professional golfer

Shauna L Rohbock: Olympic bobsledder

Kyle Frederick Snyder: Retired world-class freestyle amateur wrestler. Has won every wrestling competition there is. Youngest wrestler to win the World, NCAA and Olympic championships in the same year.

Stephen Soloway: He is a rheumatologist whose bio mentions that he once (and may still) owned a copy of every baseball card Topps ever printed - at the same time.

Julie Teer: Chief Development and Public Affairs Officer, Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Her Facebook page mentions she worked for Romney's 2008 presidential campaign. Reminds me a little of Ivanka.

Chris Tisi: CEO of Slim-Fast, Inc. (Yes, THAT Slim-Fast.) Lives in West Palm Beach.

Robert Charles Wilkins: This one's slightly interesting: Robert Charles Wilkins is an active attorney in the Orlando area. He specializes in estate and trust law.

Samuel James Worthington Jr.: Owns the Newtown Athletic Club, Newtown, PA. https://newtownathletic.com
This is a VERY impressive facility

Linda Yaccarino: Chairperson of Advertising Sales and Client Relationships for NBC Universal.

To call this the weirdest thing I've ever seen is understating the magnitude of the problem. The mission of the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition is to get kids motivated to play sports and work out. This would suggest picking two dozen Olympians and pro athletes who are young enough to be relatable to little kids. Somehow, I don't think a group of rich people and retired jocks is going to have that effect.

[radicalliberal]

15. "The mission of the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition is to get kids . . ."

". . . motivated to play sports and work out."

What about kids who have no interest in sports? Shall we make their lives a living hell by forcing them to participate in P.E. sports games with the result that nonathletic kids are often bullied? This is precisely what the phys ed establishment has promoted for generations. Is this the way to promote physical fitness?

https://www.athleticbusiness.com/more-news/study-kids-bullied-in-gym-sports-avoid-future-activity.html

Even Arnold Schwartzenegger recognizes that while schools in this country have many sports programs, there is a relatively low number of fitness programs that are designed to meet the needs of nonathletic kids.

I believe that exercise is very important. Exercise can literally save lives.

A sport is a physical contest employing the use of certain skills. It is not an exercise program. The most efficient way to get into shape is by getting on an exercise program. (By the way, I have no problem with those who enjoy sports as long as they don't seek to impose their personal preferences upon the unwilling. How about freedom of choice?)

I've taken up bodybuilding late in life, and I work with a personal trainer. I've been amazed by the stark difference between my health club experience and the mandatory P.E. experience of my youth. The difference is as great as night and day. My P.E. classes were never taught how to play any of the holy trinity of sports (baseball, basketball, football). Our coaches viewed nonathletic boys with either contempt or indifference. On the first day of mandatory P.E., I was physically weak. On the last day, no change. I was just as weak. Except I had learned to fear coaches and athletes. Today I get more exercise in a single workout session than I ever did in an entire year of P.E.

There are at least a few fitness programs that actually promote physical fitness instead of making the lives of nonathletic kids miserable, but I seriously doubt that Donald Trump (who has been an arrogant bully for most of his life) and his rich friends will care to do what's right for nonathletic kids. I seriously doubt that someone like Herschel Walker is able to relate to nonathletic boys. Probably thinks they're "sissies" or wimps.