Aaron Rodgers loves attention. But he probably wouldn’t enjoy the level of scrutiny involved in being RFK Jr.’s vice-presidential pick, Will Leitch writes. https://t.co/NZFG3Fd2Jd
— New York Magazine (@NYMag) March 13, 2024
Some people have a gift for making themselves loved wherever they go. Others, not so much… Will Leich, (excellent) professional sports reporter, for NYMag — “Aaron Rodgers Would Probably Regret Getting Into Politics”:
Every once in a while, you read a line in a news story that is so plainly self-evident, so thuddingly obvious, that it takes you aback — as if you turned on the evening news to see that the lead story is “Water Remains Wet.” The New York Times’ scoop Tuesday night that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had reached out to Aaron Rodgers about the possibility of being his vice-presidential candidate included one of those lines. According to the Times, Rodgers has “welcomed the overtures.” In the words of a great philosopher, No shit, Sherlock.
If there’s one thing that Aaron Rodgers has consistently done over the past four years of his stoned-guy-in-the-dorm-you’ve-learned-to-avoid red-pilled COVID era, it’s “welcomed the overtures,” even if many of those overtures have come from within his own brain. As his football career has flattened out (he was mediocre for a losing team in 2022 and threw exactly one pass for the Jets in 2023 before going down with an Achilles injury), Rodgers has filled his time by trying to drag himself back into the spotlight, mostly in outlandish fashion. He has accused Jimmy Kimmel of having ties to Jeffrey Epstein; insisted that Joe Biden didn’t really win the election; claimed the Epstein case was really just a distraction from UFOs; derisively called Travis Kelce “Mr. Pfizer” because Kelce supports the COVID vaccines; and pretended he was going to return to football last year even though there was never a chance he actually would. That last one was the big tell. Thanks to Kelce’s megawatt relationship with Taylor Swift, the public was talking about a football player not named Aaron Rodgers, and that hurt. The man will listen to every overture you’ve got…
But one suspects that Rodgers, if he does sign on for the ticket, may regret it. He has spent the past 20 years in the comforting embrace of sports media, which proved willing to forgive his constant lies and manipulation, as well as gloss over his increasingly insane beliefs, as long as he produced on the field. This obviously would not be the case in politics. If Rodgers ends up as a veep candidate, he’s likely to learn that the media scrutiny that comes with a political campaign dwarfs anything he has ever faced in the athletic arena. His controversies didn’t start with vaccine denialism; now, they could be reopened and reinvestigated by a political press that will feel no fealty to or reverence for him and his football career. Rodgers might think he’d be getting a clean slate in the political realm, but he would be very wrong…
However, people will be looking at him, and that — more than, say, a win in the NFC Championship game (he has lost four in a row) — is what it’s clear Rodgers wants more than anything. And you have to give him this: If Kennedy picks him to be his running mate, he’d be the most qualified person on the ticket. Rodgers was, after all, once good at something.
continue to be amazed at aaron rodgers' attempts to curt schilling himself
— Tim Murphy (@timothypmurphy) March 14, 2024
Report: Aaron Rodgers being considered for dream job as attention-getting loser https://t.co/lKIEFOKhb3
— Defector (@DefectorMedia) March 13, 2024
Tom Ley, at Defector — “Aaron Rodgers Being Considered For Dream Job As Attention-Getting Loser”:
According to the New York Times, toasted disappointment and third-party presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has placed Jets quarterback and needy crybaby Aaron Rodgers atop his shortlist of potential running mates…
It’s unclear how naming Rodgers as his running mate would improve Kennedy’s chances at securing a meaningful number of votes in this year’s election. Kennedy, whose policy platform is going on podcasts that somehow last two hours and saying “Anthony Fauci” 224 times, wouldn’t gain many new voters by pairing up with a running mate whose political platform is going on podcasts that somehow last three hours and saying “medical freedom” 129 times. Your running mate is supposed to expand your constituency, Robert! You’ve already got all the voters who think wearing a flat-brim hat is a personality!..
Everything that happens next is going to be really annoying. Kennedy will probably pick someone who is not Rodgers to be his running mate, and then Rodgers will eventually make an appearance on Pat McAfee’s TV show to address this report. He’ll say something about “so-called journalists” making up stories “for clicks,” and then he’ll smirk so hard that his eyes will water.
Training camp starts in a few months. Aaron Rodgers is 40 years old. The Jets went 7-10 last season.
War for Ukraine Day 751: Russia Attacks Odesa Again!
Tony Jay
How to tell me Bad Mister Rodgers wouldn’t be running as a Democrat without saying he wouldn’t be running as a Democrat.
Either that or NY Mag simply doesn’t follow much political journalism in the US, or anywhere else.
SpaceUnit
Please proceed Mr. Rodgers!
Tony Jay
One for all the BJ lawyers out there, from my new preferred source of mildly ribald chuckles.
w_seattle
Close call between “Arrant Rodgers” and “Errant Rodgers”.
Prescott Cactus
It’s comforting being from Chicago, knowing my deep hatred of at least this Packer, was always morally sound.
p.a.
Far be it from me to recommend Italy’s democracy as a positive model, but at least they know how to do these alt-party nominees over there:
At least she had been an actual MP.
mrmoshpotato
Fixed! Money please, New York Magazine!
mrmoshpotato
@Prescott Cactus: Haha! Yes! Go Bears!
Steve in the ATL
@Tony Jay: ha!
Baud
“Biden Must Respond to Rodgers Challenge by Replacing Kamala with Kelce.” /NYT Guest Contributer.
Prescott Cactus
@mrmoshpotato:
We share the pain. . . we share the shame. . .
hells littlest angel
I think I actually prefer Horserace politics to Just Imagine! poltics.
Tony Jay
@Steve in the ATL:
I can’t remember who shared the initial link here, but they did me a solid. Always at least a half dozen wry titters guaranteed.
mrmoshpotato
@Baud: Travis or Jason?
TBone
Everything I know about Rodgers (not all that much) has been learned against my will. Once the anti-vaxx BS came to light I tried to call it quits, that being the sole reason I know his name.
raven
Will Leitch lives here in Athens and is also and Illini so we communicate a bit. Here’s a link to his newsletter and I also recommend his book.
Prescott Cactus
@raven:
THX ! Always looking for a good newsletter.
Shalimar
link courtesy of an LGM post yesterday: Here’s’ what Aaron Rodgers said on a conspiracy theory podcast (awfulannouncing.com)
If there is an insane conspiracy theory out there anywhere, Rodgers heard it on Rogan’s show and believes it.
Tony Jay
@Baud:
Tomorrow’s FTFNYT front page, today!
TBone
Yesterday’s Comment of the Day:
brantl
@w_seattle: Errant Dodger, for the win.
TrainedWreck
@Tony Jay: the only thing more nuts than Rodgers is anyone even pretending the political press @ this point would do anything other than swoon for access and mostly ignore until too late… see santos in NY lols political press lols 😆 clowns all way down these surreal days 🤡
OzarkHillbilly
But then you repeat yourself.
BellyCat
The Georgia ruling, flawed as it was in terms of fairness, was better than it could have been and likely a win to savor.
The judge essentially said that the appearance of a possible conflict between DA and prosecutor could provide reasonable grounds for appeal, and *either* Fani or Nathan should withdraw. Letting them decide was actually fairly brilliant. Wade’s withdrawal (the right call in light of the order) lets Fani proceed. And, she will be ultra-motivated to crush these fuckers given what they groundlessly just put her through.
I suspect some new prosecutor (likely young and talented, without children to worry about), now knowing this case looks winnable with this judge, will want to make their bones with this high profile case.
The defendants are fucked, is my take.
lowtechcyclist
@brantl:
Hey! Whatever you think of the Dodgers, at least they never invited this clown to training camp.
Tony Jay
@TrainedWreck:
Said it a million times. It’s not naivety or an addiction to an outdated both-sides framing system. It’s deliberate misinformation, manipulation and narrative-setting designed to divide ‘The Left’ and protect ‘The Right’, with only minor adjustments made for geographical and terminological differences.
The coup plotters long ago stormed the TV studios and seized control of the presses. Everything since then has been uncomfortable shoe-gazing from the ‘breakfast puzzles and restaurant reviews > unbiased news reporting’ set.
NorthLeft
Yeah, this figures. The Jets should be eliminated from playoff contention by about mid-October so Rodgers will be completely available for campaign appearances.
Cervantes
This whole thing is ridiculous. Obviously the Jet won’t let him do it, and he isn’t going to give up his salary. It’s just a stunt in the first place.
NorthLeft
@Prescott Cactus: As a long time Lions fan I am happy to join with Bear and Viking fans on this one issue.
Altogether now, “Fuck Aaron Rodgers!”
HinTN
@BellyCat:
That first is undoubtedly true and I expect Ms Willis has such talent in her shop. The second is my fervent hope.
TBone
@BellyCat: my local news station highlighted only the portion about the “odor of mendacity.” And then there’s the new Kemp Order where they can throw out prosecutors on a whim, in the name of “oversight.”
🎶
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=65YIlwxBuvM
Kay
I don’t know a thing about sports but I disagree. He’ll be treated not as an athlete but as a celebrity who is a Republican and they won’t ask him anything difficult or do any digging at all.
I wish it were true that he has now entered “the big leagues” with the “tough questions”. It isn’t.
Kay
How did that work out?
They won’t ask him anything.
MomSense
Football is bad for brains.
Eyeroller
@MomSense: Football is definitely bad for brains, but I don’t think CTE explains this guy’s “thinking” since there seems to be no shortage of aggressively ignorant white men with unwarranted confidence in their opinions who never played football. Spotify recently paid Joe Rogan something like $200M to broadcast his idiocy exclusively on their platform. He is rapidly becoming–or has become–the new Rush Limbaugh but with the addition of promoting conspiracy BS.
Trivia Man
@Tony Jay: Ive enjoyed Oglaf’s mix of one-off strips and multi-part narratives. Some of the story lines were great absurdism. Worth digging through the archives for the old stuff IMHO.
3Sice
Leitch was the founder of Deadspin, which was just sold on to some VC outfit or another.
Sure, Rodgers is a bottomless pit of ego need, but it also looks more and more like he has CTE.
JML
What would be particularly problematic for Rodgers if he went into politics is that while he loves and craves attention, he can’t abide criticism. He could get away with it as a football player, because he was (until recently) considered one of the absolute best at his position, so a) he didn’t get all that much criticism, and b) when he did he could fire back and people would accept his response coming from a position of experience and expertise. Where he’s gotten into trouble lately is based on things off the field, with his vaccination lies and obfuscation, his embrace of conspiracy theories, involving himself in the Jeopardy succession, or having uncomfortable details about his personal & family life leaking out, where he can’t just go “I know as much or more than any of you about this” and have people instinctively believe him.
He’s a staggering narcissist, and one of those frightening people who are very smart about one topic, and at least fairly smart in general, but think that their expertise in one area means that people should defer to them in everything, and make them immune to criticism in all things.
It would be gross for him to jump in as RFK Jr’s running mate. He won’t do it in the end, but he’ll flirt with the idea a lot because it will get him the attention he literally can’t live without. Just another opportunity for him to feel superior to other people, and there’s few things Rodgers likes better than that.
BellyCat
@TBone: “odor of mendacity” by whom against whom? (Not familiar with this new narrative.)
It would be hard to be opposed to a formal removal process if true misconduct is involved (which is not the case with Fani), but it’s likely such process already exists. The Kemp thing is just absolute B.S., assigning Divine Ruler powers to a Governor.
3Sice
I was surprised to see a Kennedy 2024 sign yesterday. Location was previously Trump 2020.
Jackie
@JML: In other words, he’s a TIFG clone wannabe. And, maybe has more money!
MomSense
@Eyeroller:
It’s not just the CTE – it’s being a white, male, elite athlete of a certain age in a $port that makes a ton of money for white males. The guy has been encouraged, coddled, rewarded, etc his whole life.
Another Scott
@Kay:
His handlers wouldn’t let them ask him anything of substance. Were he to be in a debate, he would roll out the Gish Gallop in order to not have to answer direct questions.
But, of course, none of this is going to happen.
Kennedy will probably pick someone kinda like Katherine Schwarzenegger instead. Who cares that she’s only 34 and has never held elective office and isn’t insane. Look at the bloodlines, and the Hollywood intrigue!!11
:-/
Cheers,
Scott.
Ken
Superficially, that’s an excellent biography for winning the VP slot on the Republican ticket. However there’s no way Trump would select someone who might get more attention than him.
Mind you, it would reveal the naivety of that Will Leich article, where he says that the political press would be so much more willing to investigate Rodgers than the sports press.
StringOnAStick
@Tony Jay: I fell in love with that comic strip when there was a kerfuffle about it at LGM (where I no longer visit because, you know). Some are offended but ribald works for me!
Miss Bianca
@Kay: I mean, seriously. Sports journalists are *way* more exacting than political journalists. They have to be – their readers actually *know* something about sportsball.
Villago Delenda Est
Now this is some quality snark.
Westyny
@brantl: That would be Steve Garvey.
NotMax
@Miss Bianca
Wait until it sinks in with the RWNJs that the first two games* of this year’s baseball season will take place in South Korea.
*Slightly before the “official” start of the season but, near as I can determine (am not a sports guy), wins/losses will count as in-season games.
Badpenny
@TrainedWreck: yeah
No shit. I certainly don’t have the confidence in the political that Leitch does.
Tony G
Aaron Rodgers is just the latest version of a very old story. He was once a very talented athlete, and talented athletes (especially in football and basketball) are generally used to having their asses kissed from the time they’re about twelve years old. In a sense, they never have to grow up. Rodgers is just one of many, although his particular right-wing conspiracy theories are a slightly different slant on Bad Athlete Behavior. Celebrities in other lines of work often get the same coddled treatment, with the same obnoxious results. As a Boomer, I’ll probably continue to enjoy the musical stylings of “Disraeli Gears” and “Wheels of Fire” until I ascend into heaven but, Jesus, Eric Clapton revealed himself to be a world-class asshole a half-century ago.
pthomas745
The guy who caught Hank Aaron’s 715th home run ball waaaaay back when was a pitcher named Tom House. He earned a PhD in sport’s psychology. And, wrote a book called “The Jock’s Itch” which explains “Terminal Adolescent Syndrome.” Star athletes are treated differently in every phase of their lives, from the time they start playing at an unusually high level. When that high level drops off, and their sports careers end, the sudden loss of all the preferential treatment leads to all sorts of issues: divorce, drug use, bankruptcies. They wind up as 40 year olds who cannot cope with self care or the loss of all that status.
Aaron Rodgers seems even to think that the Jeopardy work only happened because he was obviously so brilliant.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-05-14-sp-212-story.html
Tony G
@Villago Delenda Est: That’s true. If RFK Junior were named “John Smith” then he would have had to spend his life working for a living, and he’d be just another guy in a bar talking about his dumb theories while nobody listens.
Tony Jay
@Trivia Man:
@StringOnAStick:
It’s funny and silly and, I admit, I’m a sucker for messing around with fantasy tropes. Plus the art is genuinely excellent. Every single character emotes very effectively in the right confines of a few panels, be the Balrog, bandit or caped bellend.
Someone in the Big Comic Leagues should really give them a spin on an issue of Deadpool or whatever, where ‘cartoony’ style is fine and ribald is the literal name of the game.
Though really, their She-Hulk would be collector’s edition material.
brantl
@lowtechcyclist: True. i don’t know why anyone would invite him to training camp, other than as a tackling dummy.
brantl
@MomSense:
He hasn’t. He was a bagger in a grocery store, then went on a walk on audition for the NFL and wowed them. He’s actually a self-made asshole.
brantl
@Westyny: Didn’t think of him, but, yeah.
Timill
@brantl: That would be Kurt Warner
Aaron Rodgers was a first-round draft pick in 2005.
Paul in KY
@Tony Jay: He’s GQP to the bone. Too chickenshit to explicitly say so, though.