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Marco Rubio Steps Into NFL Crisis As Paris Braces For More Chaos

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Marco Rubio
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says American officials have no reason to believe Sunday’s NFL game in France will be disrupted by widespread unrest, even as the league increases security and a Pittsburgh Steelers star’s wife questions the decision to proceed.

The Steelers are scheduled to face the New Orleans Saints at Stade de France near Paris, where recent protests have escalated into rioting, looting and property destruction.

The situation has raised questions about the safety of players, coaches and fans traveling to the country for the NFL’s first regular-season game in France.

“Our embassy feels the game will be fine,” Rubio told OutKick and Fox News Digital. “We have no indication the game will be impacted in any way.”

The secretary of state also made clear that he wasn’t planning to attend the matchup, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Eastern.

“I was never planning to go anyway,” Rubio said.

His assurances come as the NFL prepares additional security measures for the game, working with the U.S. State Department and French authorities to monitor conditions around Paris.

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NFL executive Peter O’Reilly addressed the preparations during the league’s fall meetings Tuesday, saying officials were reviewing security arrangements continually and coordinating closely with both teams.

“There’s nothing more important from our standpoint than the teams’ security, the fans’ security — everybody involved with this game,” O’Reilly said.

He described the league as being vigilant in its planning, including assessments made on an hour-by-hour basis as the game approaches.

Despite the unrest, NFL officials have not considered canceling the matchup. O’Reilly pointed to other sporting events in and around Paris that have continued as scheduled.

The league also addressed whether providing additional protection for an NFL game could divert police and security personnel from areas dealing with the disturbances.

“We feel confident that we would not have any impact on the broader resources needed,” O’Reilly explained. “That’s always top of mind for us, and we feel confident that we wouldn’t be depleting resources in a negative way around this game.”

Not everyone connected to the matchup shares that confidence. Dani Watt, the wife of Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt, questioned the decision to send players into France while demonstrations and violence continue.

“Tell me how this one makes sense???” she wrote on her Instagram story.

Her husband is expected to travel with Pittsburgh to France on Thursday ahead of Sunday’s game. Stade de France is located roughly 20 miles from the center of Paris, where vehicles have been burned and businesses looted in recent days.

The Saints arrived in Paris after their victory over the New York Giants on Sunday, while the Steelers were scheduled to make the trip later in the week.

The game is part of the NFL’s expanded international schedule, which includes a record 11 overseas matchups this season. The league has already played games in England, Australia and Brazil, with additional international contests planned before December’s end of the regular season.

France’s unrest has also become a political flashpoint in the United States, with Vice President JD Vance blaming the violence on immigration policies and difficulties integrating newcomers.

“Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion,” Vance wrote. “They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility. They were told it would lead to this and they didn’t listen.”

The vice president warned that the United States could experience similar unrest if it followed policies he blamed for the disturbances.

“I pray that France, a beautiful country of amazing people, will stop this madness before more of its landmarks burn,” Vance added. “And I hope Americans are paying attention. This is the future congressional Democrats seek for your country.”

Vance also made an NFL appearance of his own Wednesday, stopping by Cincinnati Bengals practice while in Ohio for an FBI field office speech and a campaign rally ahead of the midterms.

The vice president, a longtime Bengals fan who grew up in Middletown, Ohio, greeted several players and toured the locker room. His visit came as the team prepared for Sunday’s matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.

Quarterback Joe Burrow missed the opportunity to meet him, telling reporters that owner Mike Brown had informed him of the visit on the sideline.

“He came with everybody and left with swiftness and efficiency before the end of practice. So I didn’t get to,” Burrow said.

Asked about having Vance at practice, Burrow said he appreciated the attention the team’s work attracted.

“That’s what I love about what I do is it brings a lot of people together,” the quarterback explained.

Meanwhile, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., disputed efforts to characterize the unrest as a left-wing political problem during a Tuesday appearance on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”

Asked about comments from Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg, Khanna condemned the destruction but rejected that broader characterization.

“He’s wrong to make it about the left wing,” Khanna said. “He’s right to identify rioting as totally wrong and to say that you should never be destroying property or national monuments.”

Khanna pointed instead to economic frustrations, including rising fuel prices and concerns about funding for schools, as issues contributing to public demonstrations.

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