Congresswoman OK with her sons playing football

Rep. Cheri Bustos has no problem letting her three sons pick up a pigskin.

The Illinois Democrat tells local radio station WBGZ that unlike President Obama, she had no qualms about allowing her now-grown kids to hit the football field: “I have three sons. They all three play football. Two of the three played hockey.”

In a recent interview with The New Republic, Obama said while he’s a big football fan, if he had a son, he’d have to “think long and hard” before letting him play the sport.

“And I think that those of us who love the sport are going to have to wrestle with the fact that it will probably change gradually to try to reduce some of the violence,” he said.

The congresswoman also addressed the safety issue, saying, “I played sports growing up — my sister did, my brother did — and the safety equipment has gotten better over the years.”

Bustos, a former journalist, added, “I hope it continues to get better. But I think those are decisions that parents and their kids should talk about as a family.”

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