INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana , Indiana–Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner told Breitbart News the discipline, perseverance, teamwork, and healthy habits young people gain through sports can prepare them for success in school, work, and life as federal agencies collaborate with the NFL to explore expanded youth opportunities in underserved communities.
Turner spoke with Breitbart News at the Indianapolis Colts’ Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center, where officials from the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Education, and Labor joined NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent Sr. to announce a memorandum of understanding exploring an initiative focused on “youth engagement, academic participation, healthy living and workforce development through youth sports,” according to a physical copy of the agreement provided to Breitbart News. The event also included current and former NFL players, youth athletes, and local community partners.
Turner, a member of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, spent nine seasons in the NFL.
“The Lord used football as a platform to change the trajectory of my life,” Turner told Breitbart News. “And so I like to give back to the next generation of athletes and potential leaders.”
“As secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the skills that I learned in sport — teamwork, discipline, perseverance, humility, lifting your brother up when they’re down — have prepared me for such a time as this,” Turner said.
Addressing what young Americans should understand about hard work as socialism rises, Turner said, “If you want something, go earn it. It’s not going to be given to you.”
Scott Turner Being Interviewed by Breitbart’s Jasmyn Jordan
“If you earn something, then it makes it more worth it,” Turner continued. “And you have to have discipline. If you fall, you have to get up. If you don’t reach your goal, don’t quit.”
“And you’re not entitled to anything,” Turner said. “What you’re entitled to is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That’s what you’re entitled to. Everything else, you got to go work for it.”
Turner also emphasized the importance of getting young people away from screens. “It’s so critical to get people off the cell phone, outside playing, in activities, working together, serving one another, picking teams,” he said.
“If you have a ball and some grass, or a ball and a court, and you put young people together — that’s where the magic happens,” Turner said.
“But we’ve put these cell phones in their hands as a distraction, as a babysitter,” Turner said. “And the amount of hours that people in America, period, but in particular young people, spend on social media and on cell phone is frightening.”
Turner said initiatives such as the MOU can help young people become healthy “holistically” in “their mind, their body, and their spirit” by “engaging with one another through sport, getting off the phone, getting off video games.”
“It literally will change the trajectory of their life,” Turner said. “I’m a living witness.”
Asked what he would tell a young person who does not consider himself or herself athletic or feels intimidated by joining a sport, Turner responded, “Don’t knock it until you try it.”
“Don’t let fear keep you from going for it,” Turner added.
“When you participate in sports, it makes your mind stronger,” Turner said. “And if you have a strong mind and you do good academically, you behave better.”
Turner noted that students must maintain good grades to participate in high school sports. “When you participate in sports, it disciplines your mind, which impacts your behavior in a positive manner,” he said.
Turner said meaningful success after one year would mean “more kids engaged in flag football” and “more kids engaged in sports across the country.”
“If we have public housing authorities that have children that are engaging in flag football and not just sitting in the house, that’s success,” Turner said.
“If we have kids around our country that are now playing on sports teams whereby they have before just been sitting in the house not doing anything extracurricular, that’s success,” he continued.
“The more kids we can get healthy, to eating better, to physical activity, that’s success,” Turner said. “The bar is not as high as we need it to be, but we’re going to raise it.”
Turner described the NFL as “a great partner,” noting that current and former players may have played Pee Wee or flag football themselves or have children participating in the sport.
“Anytime you have their presence, anytime you have them near and around young people, it’s always a plus,” Turner said.
The agencies said the collaboration is intended to help “Make America Healthy Again” become “a reality for underserved youth” by connecting structured youth sports programming with education and workforce systems.
The MOU calls for identifying “a limited number of locations,” including areas near public housing or other HUD-assisted housing projects, where coordinated programs could be implemented. Sites may be selected based on the concentration of underserved young people and families, the availability of local partners and infrastructure, and the feasibility of carrying out the activities.
Potential programming could include regular practices, events, and team activities, life-skills and financial-literacy instruction, academic and attendance reinforcement, workforce-readiness training, and work-based learning opportunities. The agreement also seeks to establish “practical pathways from participation to employment.”
Vincent said, “Flag football is more than a sport. It’s a platform to teach character, build confidence, encourage teamwork, and create opportunities that last long after the final whistle.”
“We’re honored to stand with leaders who share the belief that every young person deserves the chance to grow, compete, and discover what’s possible,” Vincent added.
ACF Assistant Secretary Alex J. Adams said the partnership could create “new pathways” for young people, “especially those in foster care,” to stay active, form relationships with trusted mentors, and develop leadership skills that prepare them for adulthood.
Assistant Education Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education Kirsten Baesler said the collaboration would use “athletic discipline to drive academic ambition and close learning gaps” while helping young people “earn their own success.”
Under the agreement, HUD may coordinate with Public Housing Authorities and local housing partners, the Education Department may work with schools and afterschool programs, the Labor Department may connect activities with existing workforce systems, and ACF may align the effort with existing health and human-services initiatives.
The MOU is voluntary and non-binding. It does not authorize new spending, require the agencies to establish specific programs, create funding commitments, or require them to serve a particular number of participants or achieve defined outcomes.
The agreement remains in effect for one year.
Tuesday’s announcement came nearly one year after President Donald Trump issued a July 31, 2025, executive order revitalizing the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition and reestablishing the Presidential Fitness Test. On May 5, Trump proclaimed National Physical Fitness and Sports Month and said sports and fitness are “woven into the fabric of American identity” and that his administration was working with athletes, sports organizations, teams, schools, and communities to usher in “a new Golden Age of physical fitness.” Turner wrote on X the following day: “Sports and fitness make you stronger in body, mind, and soul. It teaches valuable lessons in grit and commitment that you can’t learn anywhere else. Thank you, @POTUS, for restoring the Presidential Fitness Test and creating a stronger, healthier future for our country.”