Aaron Rodgers’s weekly appearances on ESPN can be problematic, especially if he’s going to take shots at ESPN talent while on ESPN.
He did just that last Tuesday, in his visit with Pat McAfee.
“I’m talking about these experts on TV who nobody remembers what they did in their career,” Rodgers said, via Bryan Fonseca of the New York Post. “So in order for them to stay relevant, they have to make comments that keep them in the conversation. That wasn’t going on in 2008, 2009. The SportsCenter of my youth, those guys made highlights so much fun. And that’s what they showed on SportsCenter.
“Now, it’s all talk shows and people whose opinions are so important now and they believe they’re the celebrities now, they’re the stars for just being able to talk about sports or give a take about sports, many of which are unfounded or asinine, as we all know. But that’s the environment we’re in now.”
That comment rankled ESPN personality Ryan Clark.
“The reason you’re getting the opportunity to say these asinine things is because someone is paying you— exactly like the people you’re calling out,” Clark said regarding Rodgers on ESPN’s First Take. “This dude is a fraud. He’s been a fraud. He acts like he’s above everybody and everything.”
Rodgers got the last word, at least for now. He did so while making a more general observation that flows from his deep-seated persecution complex.
He has said in the past that those in the media who criticize him are doing so at the behest of Big Pharma. Because, obviously, it can’t be due to the merits, or lack thereof, of his words or the content, or lack thereof, of his character. The only explanation for any criticism of Rodgers, in his mind, must be that someone has been corrupted by money.
“Say whatever the fuck you want about me, I don’t care,” Rodgers told McAfee and A.J. Hawk on Tuesday. “But just before you do it, whether you state your name, your accolades, pronouns, whatever it is, just state your vax status, so that anything you say afterwards gets put in the right light. Just get it out there. Because then when you say things about me, people can at least be like, ‘Oh, you are captured by the multibillion-dollar propaganda Skyhawk and you’re still upset about it. . . .
“Hey, you know what I mean? Just put that in the — just so everybody knows where you’re coming from. Everybody knows. OK, cool, you’re twice vaxed Moderna with three booster shots, and then boom, boom, boom say what you want to say, whatever. I don’t care. I’m just saying a PSA, just please help everybody out who’s wondering, ‘Where is this coming from?’ Including myself. I’m like, ‘Where the fuck’s this coming from?’ But just give a little PSA. Do a little bit of digging and then you know where it’s all coming from. You’re captured, you’re highly vaccinated, and then say whatever the hell you want to say about me because I couldn’t give two shits about it.”
And if it wasn’t clear Rodgers was referring to Clark, Rodgers added this: “You don’t just need a brooch with your initials. Put your vax status on there, too.”
It’s ridiculous. Three years later, Rodgers is still mad that he got caught lying about being vaccinated. He still bristles at the fact that, at that moment, he became a heel.
Aaron, we’re not getting paid by Big Pharma to say what we think about: (1) your initial lie about being vaccinated; (2) your obsession with relitigating it; and (3) your bizarre belief that anyone who would dare to criticize you has been bought off.
Strange as it might seem, it’s possible that people will genuinely not like some of the things you say and some of the things you do. Without anyone paying them to do it.
