The New York Jets are hoping for a much less dramatic season than their 2023 campaign. What started out so promising last year with the acquisition of Aaron Rodgers in a trade with the Green Bay Packers turned into yet another disappointment.
Rodgers, of course, tore his Achilles and, despite multiple claims that he would return at the end of the year, was lost for the season. Their free agent signings of Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, Rodgers’ former Packers teammates, proves disastrous.
In the end, the team burned its bridge with Zach Wilson, the former number two overall pick who was supposed to learn from Rodgers, but found himself abandoned. They also got a taste of the “extra” stuff that comes with having Rodgers as their quarterback.
Aaron Rodgers Found a Way to Stay in the Spotlight Despite not Playing for the New York Jets
There is no question that Rodgers is one of the most talented and all-time best quarterbacks of all time. When the time comes for him to retire, he will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
That being said, oftentimes Rodgers is in the headlines for all of the wrong reasons. Dating back to his days with the Packers, he became well-known for his unconventional beliefs, including a strong opposition to vaccinations. While he was not alone in his opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine, he has since taken it a step further.
In the year that has passed since Rodgers was traded to the Jets, he has, on numerous occasions, stated his belief the Dr. Anthony Fauci and the United States government were behind the COVID-19 pandemic. On a recent podcast, he also said Fauci and the government created AIDS.
Ironically, the owner of the Jets, Woody Johnson, is a manufacturer for vaccines.
In addition to his beliefs about big pharma, Rodgers recently has also stated that modern architecture is not real, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is in danger of being assassinated by the FBI and CIA, and accused comedian Jimmy Kimmel of being an Epstein client.
And these things do not take into account the claim by a CNN reporter that Rodgers is a Sandy Hook denier.
As an American citizen with rights protected by the Constitution, Rodgers, of course, has the right to say and believe whatever he wants. However, the NFL is a multi-billion dollar industry and can take action to stop any messages players may have that they find detrimental to their product.
They have done it before, and one writer thinks they should do it again.
One Writer Argues Aaron Rodgers Should Get the Colin Kaepernick Treatment from the NFL
Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, created a controversy when he knelt during the National Anthem in 2016 as a form of protest against police brutality towards African Americans. He chose to kneel, instead of sitting, after a conversation with Nate Boyer, a former NFL player and green beret.
Now, Kaepernick was nowhere near the level of player that Rodgers is/was, but had taken his team to the Super Bowl in 2012. He was a high-profile player in one of the biggest markets in the country.
Yet, he was soon out of the NFL. While many claim that he was not blackballed (instead that he simply was not good enough), it is worth noting that the NFL paid an undisclosed settlement to Kaepernick after he brought a lawsuit against the league.
In a recent article written by Rachel Ulatowski, the argument is made that if the NFL was willing to, in essence, ban Kaepernick from playing, they should do the same for Rodgers due to his harmful messages on various podcast appearances.
There is absolutely no evidence to back up Rodgers’ wild theories, and they can feed into anti-vaccination ideology, as well as raise unnecessary mass hysteria and mistrust….
“Why is the crowd that thinks Kaepernick’s call for the country to take action against racism is ‘anti-American’ not bothered by Rodgers accusing the government of killing HIV patients and American citizens? Where is the outrage and backlash for Rodgers disrespecting this country? Where’s the backlisting and inability to find a place in the NFL? One can only imagine the response and swift action if Kaepernick made the kind of false accusations that Rodgers publicly has.”
One truly does have to wonder why the NFL is silent on Rodgers’ anti-government claims. Perhaps he is too big of a name? Ulatowski claims it is because he is white, so take that for what you will.
Whichever the reason, the Jets and/or the NFL may need to intervene soon because Rodgers is sounding more and more unhinged.
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