Aaron Rodgers has no problem playing in the City of Light.
Speaking with reporters Friday, the Steelers QB expressed full confidence in the NFL’s decision to hold a game in Paris while the city is engulfed in violent protests.
“I definitely think that the NFL is alert to what’s going on,” Rodgers said from a downtown hotel after the Steelers landed in the city on Friday. “This game means a lot to the NFL. If it was unsafe, then I’m sure we wouldn’t be here.”
Preparations for Sunday’s Steelers-Saints game at Stade de France “continue as planned,” the NFL said, despite concerns from around the league and the country.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said he has remained in contact with local authorities in Paris as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio. But that reassurance of communication hasn’t assuaged all concerns, including from the president.
“It’s looking like tomorrow’s going to be a bad day in France, so you worry about it,” Donald Trump said Friday. “I would have said the NFL could have probably postponed that match, if you want to know the truth, because France is really in trouble. That’s what happens when you go left.”
Dani Watt, the wife of Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt, took to Instagram Stories on Tuesday to express her own concerns, with her husband slated to play Sunday amid the unrest.
“Tell me how this makes sense???” she wrote over a headline from CBS Pittsburgh that said the game was continuing.
The Steelers also canceled a fan event scheduled for Sunday at a bar in the Bastille neighborhood.
The state department issued an alert Thursday, urging American fans in the city to “exercise caution and be aware of their surroundings” as they make their way to the game on Sunday.
“While permits may be filed for demonstration routes, last-minute changes can happen and protests can occur outside planned routes,” the alert continued.
Student-led demonstrations have have taken over the French capital this month, protesting the cost of living, the poor conditions across schools and universities, teacher shortages and lack of funding.
“We’ve made all the preparations,” Goodell said Wednesday. “Protests are not unusual in France, as you know, and that’s something that we will be aware of and make sure that the appropriate arrangements are made.”
