New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers admitted his stardom turned from being a “beloved athlete” to a “polarizing figure.”
Rodgers sat down for an interview with Tucker Carlson on Tuesday to share his views on various controversies, including previous speculation about being a vice presidential finalist for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and how he’s “stood up” for himself.
“The last four years of my life I went from a pretty beloved athlete to a very polarizing figure,” Rodgers said on Carlson’s X show.
Rodgers said he’s experienced “a lot of character assassinations.”
Carlson laughed, “I noticed.”
The football player acknowledged that there are many “great athletes” who’ve kept their opinions private but said he loves this country.
“I got to a point where I’ve made my money. I have a platform. I’ve had success in my business. What’s the worst that you could do to me?” Rodgers said to Carlson. “I feel good about the way I’ve stood up for myself.”
Rodgers said that when it was revealed that he was a possible contender on the vice presidential short list for Kennedy, he felt the pressure of a “total character assassination” on him.
“When it came out from the campaign that I was to be a finalist to be Bobby’s vice president, there was a total character assassination with some bizarre story from 12 years ago that somebody thought they heard something that I was questioning,” he said.
In March, Rodgers was reported to have told people, including a CNN reporter, that he believed the Sandy Hook shooting to be a “government inside job.” Rodgers responded, denying the accusation.
Kennedy eventually chose attorney Nicole Shanahan as his vice presidential pick, but Rodgers expressed to Carlson that he was “interested” and had “thought about it.”
“I love this country and I want to see it thrive,” he said. “There’s just a lot of issues right now that seem really un-American. And I think there’s a lot of red-blooded Americans. People are like, how can Trump have such support? Because people are fed up with it.”
“When Bobby came to me and said, ‘Would you think about being my running mate?’ And I said, ‘Are you serious? I’m a f***ing football player.’ But I love this country, and I’d love to be a part of bringing it back to what she used to be,” he recounted to Carlson about his conversation with Kennedy.
Carlson followed up with a question, “Did you think about it?”
“Oh, yeah, I thought about it, and I wanted to hear what he had to say about it,” Rodgers said.
Kennedy responded on social media to Carlson’s interview with Rodgers.
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“Grateful to this man for his courage, integrity and the relentless brand of critical thinking that makes democracy work,” Kennedy said.
Rodgers slammed the media and his critics, “I’m not beholden. I have a contract, but I’m not beholden to anybody. I’m dangerous to them because I speak my mind. I’m not a cliche-ridden star athlete. I’m a loose cannon to them.”
