Packers: Aaron Rodgers is the most misunderstood person in sports

Whether people in the media want to admit it or not, Aaron Rodgers has been completely disrespected and misunderstood as a human being.

Every once in a while, some beat writer or some news personality will call out Aaron Rodgers for something he has said or done. But here is the thing. What has he done except just being himself? If you are going to attack someone for just being them when you have no idea who they are, you should look inward.

There have been stories about Aaron Rodgers not getting along with his family. That’s interesting. Show me someone who has gotten along with their family 24/7 and has no disagreements at all. Good luck.

There was a report that came out a couple of years ago about how there was a rift between Aaron Rodgers and former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Last time I checked, this is the NFL. It is the most competitive league in the world.

You are going to butt heads with your teammates and coaches because everyone wants to win so bad. Rodgers has said repeatedly over the last few years how much he loves McCarthy. No need to discuss that topic further. End of story.

How about the reports of Rodgers audibling out of plays called by Packers head coach Matt LaFleur? There was no story there. Rodgers and LaFleur both smashed that story.

What about the news that sent shockwaves throughout media networks all over this season? Aaron Rodgers said he was “immunized” and not officially vaccinated. First off, it’s nobody’s business but his. Second off, the only people that mattered in terms of knowing his status were him, the Packers, and the league office.

Sure, maybe he didn’t give us the clearest answer. But I can promise you, the people taking cheap shots at Aaron have made so many mistakes too. They haven’t been clear before. Everyone on this planet has had a moment or two when they didn’t give the clearest response. How would they feel if the world put a camera in their face and showed them after they made a mistake? Nobody is at all perfect.

Finally, Mr. Rodgers is staying in his neighborhood. News broke on Tuesday that he is officially returning to Green Bay to play his 18th NFL season. It is great news for all of Packers nation. But the media decided to continue to paint the picture of Aaron Rodgers being selfish.

According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the Packers signed the future Hall-of-Famer to a four-year, $200 million deal with $153 million guaranteed. Rodgers posted on Twitter later in the day saying that the report is false and there has been no agreement on the length of the contract or the amount of money but that he is excited to come back.

Yet, sports networks still continue to keep the logistics of the deal official on the bottom of your television screen even though it’s not the truth. Rodgers refuted the report and still, the media is trying to push the narrative that Rodgers only cares about himself.

About two weeks ago, Rodgers made a post on Instagram about gratitude. He wrote about the people that he is thankful for. He wrote about his teammates. He wrote about the season. He just wanted to say how thankful he really was.

Of course, the media took that as “I am not going to play for the Green Bay Packers again.” They tried to make it seem like was sending some early signals about leaving and that led to people taking more shots about his character.

On ESPN’sGet Up earlier this week, hosts and analysts asked the question if Aaron Rodgers is a selfish person because he “reportedly” was getting a four-year, $200 million deal. Whatever happened to sports commentators and analysts just simply talking about what happens on the field? The fun and the joy is being taken out of sports when people make it a point to try to put someone down for no justifiable reason at all.

Aaron Rodgers is not a selfish person. Not at all. If that was true, he wouldn’t be making annual donations to Cal Football, his alma mater, and going back to visit every offseason.

If that was true, he wouldn’t have helped save a lot of businesses in northern California that were affected by the California wildfires and Covid-19. If that was true, he wouldn’t have let one of his great friends and teammates in Randall Cobb, who didn’t have a place to stay quite yet, stay at his house after Cobb’s trade to Green Bay from Houston last offseason.

If that was true, he and All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari wouldn’t be driving their training camp golf cart around Green Bay after practice to talk to and spend time with fans. If that was true, he wouldn’t appear on The Pat McAfee Show every Tuesday during the season to just simply have fun conversations and help people learn more about the game of football.

By the way, that show deserves the biggest shoutout for defending Aaron Rodgers and who he is as a person. They led the charge. Host and all-around legend Pat McAfee, hilarious and expert commentators Ty Schmit, Boston Connor, and Tony Digs, Packers legend A.J. Hawk and Co. help push the opposite narrative of that of the media.

Rodgers is one of the most genuine, kind, hilarious, and honest people in sports. Michael Jordan had Ahmad Rashad. Rashad was Jordan’s trustworthy friend, who worked in the media but understood the type of person that Michael was. Pat McAfee just might be Aaron Rodgers’s Ahmad Rashad.

Speaking of Michael Jordan, do you remember in The Last Dance, when it was shown how terrible the media was to Michael Jordan? They called him out for him simply being him.

Eventually, all-time great athletes and people are going to get attacked. That is the nature of the news. They tried to make Jordan seem like a bad guy. They tried to make him seem like a villain when he was actually a superhero. A superhero that did amazing things on the court while being incredibly kind off of it.

Aaron Rodgers is a superhero too. Both on and off the field. He is genuine. There was a story a few years back of a mother and her son, who were both Bears fans, walking in downtown Chicago around the holidays.

The Green Bay Packers happened to be in town. The mother and son were standing at a crosswalk when they realized someone was standing next to them. Someone very familiar. It was Aaron Rodgers. Aaron introduced himself to both of them and talked to the son about sports. The boy apologized for being a Bears fan. Rodgers told him he had nothing to apologize for.

Other Packer fans recognized Aaron, so the boy and his mom said goodbye and kept walking. Later on, Rodgers surprised them by catching up to them. They walked down Michigan Ave. for another 20 minutes.

The mother would later talk to the Green Bay Press-Gazette about it saying, “He was asking me questions that most people would think, ‘Why would Aaron Rodgers care?’. It was so amazing. It was really something, I have to say. It still is.” She would later go on to say, “I’m not bragging that I met him. That’s just pure luck. I’m sharing with the world what a fabulous human being Aaron Rodgers is.” That story says it all.

He is funny. If you don’t believe that, just check out the photo of him wearing a Kevin Malone t-shirt when he showed up at the start of training camp. He was once asked a question about why he’s been so successful throwing the ball deep in his career. His response was, “I’ve always wanted to say this…Chicks dig the long ball.” Absolute comedy.

He cares about others more than himself. He loves his teammates and they love him. He loves his coaches and they love him. Why do you think he requested to narrate part of an NFL Films episode in which his former offensive line coach James Campen, who coached for the Packers for 15 seasons, returned to Green Bay last preseason with the Houston Texans?

He wanted to convey how much he appreciates Coach Campen because Campen had such an amazing impact on him and other Packers players. Campen took him under his wing when Rodgers was a younger player. They would go out for dinner on the road together.

Rodgers cited how neat it was that whenever Campen, who is now with the Carolina Panthers, would travel on the road with a team, he would walk the streets and hand out money to homeless people.

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Rodgers was quoted as saying, “He’s been doing this for years, and that’s the kind of guy he is.”

The quote that is really telling is this: “Coach Campy still means the world to me, and he always will.” Campen didn’t even coach Aaron’s position. But they say still have this incredible bond. That’s a special, special thing. That’s why we love football. Aaron Rodgers cares way more about others than himself. That’s just the facts.

He loves the Green Bay Packers’ front office. If he didn’t, why would he specifically thank Packers GM Brian Gutekunst, team president Mark Murphy, and the late, great Ted Thompson in his latest MVP speech? Thompson was the GM for years in Green Bay and used his first draft pick as GM on Aaron.

Do not let news personalities who are in the business of trying to increase viewership and negative reporters tell you anything inaccurate about someone they truly do not know. Aaron Rodgers deserves a whole lot better from a whole lot of people who think it is okay to say negative things about him even if that will make them more money or get them more views.

Be kind to No. 12. He is just another person (not really, have you seen what he can do with that football?) that is playing the game he loves with his friends while inspiring everyone to go to the beat of their own drum.

Aaron Rodgers is a good person who deserves better.

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