Aaron Rodgers has often been referred to by NFL pundits as the most talented quarterback to ever play the position. He’s earned his future gold jacket in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with his utter dominance on the field, including a Super Bowl championship and four NFL Most Valuable Player Awards. But now, after going on tangent after tangent spreading his borderline-unhinged personal beliefs to the masses over the past two-and-a-half years, he’s earned the right to be called a babbling fool.
The now 40-year-old dominated the league for more than a decade, winning his lone Lombardi in the 2010 season before claiming the league’s MVP in two of the following four years. He then battled through a few injuries over the coming years, though he was still among the best at his position. Then, in 2020, Rodgers came out and had one of his best seasons to date, most notably tossing 48 touchdown passes against five interceptions, to claim his third MVP. He claimed his fourth – and final, I’d wager – MVP in 2021, but that’s where Rodgers seemingly fell out of favor with a lot of fans.
Rodgers first began making regular appearances on The Pat McAfee Show during the 2020 campaign, which was met by rave reviews. Prior to making his weekly Tuesday visits via FaceTime, Rodgers was mostly an unknown figure to the public. He seldom made public statements about his personal life, if any, and the only headlines he grabbed at press conferences had to do with on-field activity, such as his famous “R-E-L-A-X” speech. There was a controversy surrounding the relationship with him and his family in 2016, with his brother Jordan Rodgers airing out the star quarterback’s dirty laundry.
Still, little was known about Rodgers. But his weekly interviews with Pat McAfee allowed the public to see a new side of him. He’s a deep thinker and has a sense of humor, which was highlighted through banter with McAfee’s co-host and Rodgers’ best friend and former teammate AJ Hawk. Everything was hunky-dory.
And then, Rodgers was diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2021. By this point, the COVID vaccine was readily available, meaning that the players who had taken it had a reduced wait time before getting back on the field. Heads turned when it was reported that Rodgers had to sit out the mandated 10 days following his diagnosis. Not soon after, people began to catch on that Rodgers, who in the 2021 season told reporters that he had been “immunized,” was unvaccinated.
Whether you agree with the vaccine or not isn’t my business. I personally don’t care one way or the other, especially now that the world isn’t consumed with it any more. But Rodgers intentionally misled the public – something he didn’t fess up to until just before the 2022 season started. Having a personal belief is one thing, but lying about it as a public figure is another issue entirely.
Rodgers quickly made a lot of enemies. I, who was a regular listener/watcher of McAfee’s show for several years, wasn’t ready to abandon ship after this revelation. That only came when every weekly appearance had to have detailed references to Rodgers’ medicinal and political opinions. I’m the type of person that doesn’t care what you do, but I’d prefer it if you’d keep it to yourself (or at least not make it the only thing you talk about). So after many more weeks of Rodgers spewing his thoughts on what was supposed to be a sports show, I dipped.
Then on Jan. 2, Rodgers made even more headlines. Long story short, there was this guy named Jeffrey Epstein. Bad guy, maybe you’ve heard of him. Since this is a sports column, I’ll spare you the details, but he had some bad wheelings and dealings – and a lot of different clients that made trips to his personal island. Rodgers stated that Jimmy Kimmel – a late night talk show host on ABC – hopes that a client list of Epstein’s doesn’t get revealed to the public.
And away we go.
First of all, McAfee’s show airs on ESPN. What do ESPN and ABC have in common? They’re both owned by Mickey Mouse. Secondly, when has insinuating on live television that someone is a – let’s just say a bad, bad human being – ever been acceptable? And why is a quarterback whose season ended on the fourth play from scrimmage this season still running his mouth and throwing this rhetoric out there?
Not only has Rodgers split opinions of football fans, but he’s done so in the political sphere as well. People on the left and the right are now chiming in on what Rodgers is saying, since he’s an incredibly influential figure given his position and prominence. He’s become emblematic of what’s wrong with this country, this attitude of you’re either with me or against me. That’s not the type of headspace I like to live in, so you can see why Rodgers’ tyrades have left me with a feeling of discontent.
As this was written, McAfee has since gone to battle with ESPN, claiming top executives are attempting to “sabotage” him and his show. None of this would have happened if he wasn’t paying millions of dollars a year to invite his buddy on the show each week to talk nonsense. There could be significant consequences for the network known as “The Worldwide Leader in Sports,” and Rodgers is at the center of it.
The four-time MVP went from a mysterious figure to a misunderstood figure before being an outright madman. My take? Just retire already and retreat to your Malibu beach house.
