The ongoing American war with utter stupidity entered the sports arena again yesterday as a Chicago journalist admitted he would not be voting for Aaron Rodgers because he was a jerk. Rodgers promptly responded in a manner that made it clear the journalist was correct. Granted the timing of this, on January 6th, makes this appear as unimportant but it really is not. It is beyond time that the unvaccinated started paying a price for their ignorance. Even though he has apologized, Hub Arkush was right in his rationale for denying Rodgers his fourth Most Valuable Player Award.
"I don't think you can be the biggest jerk in the league and punish your team and your organization and your fan base the way he did and be the most valuable player, Has he been the most valuable on the field? Yeah, you could make that argument, but I don't think he is clearly that much more valuable than Jonathan Taylor (Colts running back) or Cooper Kupp (Rams wide receiver) or maybe even Tom Brady (Buccaneers QB). So from where I sit, the rest of it is why he's not gonna be my choice. Do I think he's gonna win it? Probably. A lot of voters don't approach it the way I do, but others do, who I've spoken to. But one of the ways we get to keep being voters is we're not allowed to say who we are voting for until after the award has been announced. I'm probably pushing the envelope by saying who I'm not voting for. But we're not really supposed to reveal our votes. There are no guidelines. We are told to pick the guy who we think is most valuable to his team. And I don't think it says anywhere, 'strictly on the field,' although I do think he hurt his team on the field by the way he acted off the field." - Hub Arkush
Arkush probably apologized because he wounded the feelings of Rodgers but the words he spoke are 100% correct and I hope that his journalist peers rally around him and deny Rodgers the award. First of all Taylor and Kupp were certainly just as valuable to their teams as Rodgers. That aside, Taylor and Rodgers did not jeopardize the health of their teammates by refusing to be vaccinated and then lying about it. Do not get me wrong. Aaron Rodgers has the "freedom" to be stupid but his right to be stupid should not infringe upon his teammates right to live. As such how in the world can someone who cared so little about the people he plays with, be the most valuable player of those people? He simply cannot be and the message it would send to award him such is that the only thing that makes someone valuable in professional sports is performance. That character does not matter. That how you are as a teammate doesn't matter. That throwing a football is more important than infecting your team with a potentially lethal virus. Did we see contrition from Rodgers at any point this season? Absolutely not. After receiving backlash for telling people he was "immunized" as a way of lying about not being vaccinated, Rodgers offered this self-righteous mea culpa:
I acknowledge am a role model to a lot of people. I made some comments that people might have felt were misleading. To anybody who felt misled by those comments, I take full responsibility. I'm an athlete, not an activist. I'm going to get back to doing what I do best and that's playing ball. I shared my opinion and it wasn't one that was come to frivolously. It involved a lot of studying and what I felt like was the best interest of my body. But further comments, I am going to keep between myself and my doctors, I don't have any further comments about any of those things after this interview." - Aaron Rodgers
Yeah, sorry but that does not cut it. Some people might have found misleading? That is not taking full responsibility at all because it retains the lie. Rodgers was not just misleading. When asked about his status, he would tell people that he was "immunized" when he knew damn well he was not. Then after this non-apology he basically doubles down with his insane, anti-vax nonsense about studying and deciding that a life saving vaccine is not in the best interest of "his body" further misinforming those who might look up to him. As for Rodgers response to Arkush?
"He's a bum. I think he's an absolute bum. You don't know me. I don't know who he is. Nobody knew who he was probably until yesterday's comments. In my opinion, [the NFL] should exclude future votes [from Arkush]. His problem isn't with me being a bad guy or the biggest jerk in the league. ... His problem is I'm not vaccinated. Maybe just for this season make it the Most Vaccinated Player." - Aaron Rodgers
What a self-entitled jerk. Just because Arkush does not have the national spotlight the way Rodgers does that does not make him less than. Celebrity should come with some civic responsibility. Arkush is a 68-year-old sports journalist. The people in Chicago sure knew who he was before this nonsense. The more disturbing thing about these comments however is that Rodgers still does not get it. We do know him now. We know that in August when asked about his vaccine status he lied. He lied to the press, the public, the fan base, his teammates and the rest of the league. Then he contracted COVID, what a shock, during the season and had to miss a game. His team managed seven points that game and took one of their three losses. That was when the truth came out that he had never been vaccinated at all. He thought it was cute to lie about being "immunized" to his teammates and opponents for months.
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