A left-wing sportswriter for The Associated Press has said he most definitely won’t cast a ballot for further NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers for the league’s Most Valuable Player this year even though the Green Bay signal-caller is definitely having an MVP season.
And why? Because Rodgers isn’t a COVID-19 vaccine zombie or cheerleader.
The AP writer, Hub Arkush, said of Rodgers, according to Sports Illustrated: “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,” Arkush said, according to the magazine, which cited Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.
“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 or Cooper Kupp or maybe even Tom Brady. So from where I sit, the rest of it is why he’s not gonna be my choice,” he added.
Sports Illustrated continued:
Rodgers has led the Packers to the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC. Through 15 games, he’s completed 68.6% of his passes for 3,977 yards, 35 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
Arkush said he would not reveal who he’s actually voting for, but asserted that he would not be the only voter who passed on casting Rodgers as their No. 1 choice. Ultimately, he believes that the way Rodgers carried himself off the field—citing his violation of COVID-19 protocols—is what ultimately caused him to be unworthy of winning the MVP award this year.
“I just think that the way he’s carried himself is inappropriate,” Arkush added. “I think he’s a bad guy, and I don’t think a bad guy can be the most valuable guy at the same time.”
What Arkush really means is that he doesn’t like Rodgers’ politics — the Green Bay QB is too much of a libertarian free-thinker and definitely not a left-wing group-thinker — but he doesn’t have the courage to just say that, so he has to couch his criticism in COVID doublespeak.
Rodgers was asked during a presser on Wednesday about the AP sportswriter’s inane comments and fired his own verbal salvo in response.
Aaron Rodgers just teed off on the NFL MVP voter who said he wouldn’t vote for him because of off field issues. “He’s a bum…His problem is that I’m not vaccinated.” This is great, enjoy: pic.twitter.com/d1t3THdwZB
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 5, 2022
“I think he’s a bum. I think he’s an absolute bum,” Rodgers said. “He doesn’t know me. I don’t know who he is. No one knew who he was, probably, until yesterday’s comments … And I listened to the comments, but to say he had his mind made up in the summertime, in the offseason, that … I had zero chance of winning MVP — in my opinion, should exclude [him from] future votes.
“His problem isn’t with me being a ‘bad guy’ or ‘the biggest jerk in the league’ because he doesn’t know me … He doesn’t know anything about me. I’ve never met him. I’ve never had lunch with him. I’ve never had an interview with him. His problem is I’m not vaccinated … So if he wants to go on a crusade and collude and come up with an extra letter to put on the award just for this season and make it the ‘Most Valuable Vaccinated Player,’ then he should do that,” Rodgers added.
The QB repeated his assessment that Arkush is “a bum, and I’m not gonna waste any time worrying about that stuff. He has no idea who I am.
“He’s never talked to me in his life. But it’s unfortunate that those sentiments — it’s surprising that he would even say that, to be honest. But I knew this was possible,” Rodgers noted further.
Because of Rodgers, Green Bay has a legit shot at not only making the Super Bowl but adding another trophy to the storied franchise’s collection of Super Bowl trophies that are named after the storied franchise’s most storied coach, Vince Lombardi.
Maybe Arkush will have to choke down some humble pie, but we doubt it.
