New York Jets starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers is not just an anti-vaxxer, he’s also a Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist. Rodgers sees his own anti-science stance, and he now raises the ante, to believing the 2012 mass shooting that took 26 lives, 20 of which were elementary school children, was “staged.”
At the 2013 Kentucky Derby, Rodgers reportedly crossed paths with CNN’s Pamela Brown, whom he then shared his Sandy Hook conspiracy theories with.
Aaron Rodgers shared Sandy Hook conspiracy theories. Watch the full video here: https://t.co/4CNtEcjBCg pic.twitter.com/H75wySxk80
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) March 13, 2024
Rodgers referred to the tragedy, which took place in Newton, CT, as an “inside job” perpetrated by the government. He referred to men “dressed in black” outside the school, and how that made him suspicious. The former Green Bay Packers quarterback claimed that the six-year-olds who were traumatized by the slaughter of their classmates were “crisis actors.”
He accused the parents who lost their young children of faking it all. All these ideas have repeatedly been debunked by the way- just act the legal team of “character artist” Alex Jones (likely the source of Rodgers’ insane beliefs about this).
So why did Brown sit on this volatile information for 11 years, and only leak it now to her CNN colleagues?
There are likely several reasons for this, and only Brown can say for sure, but it’s probably because she’s a political reporter, not a sports reporter, and Aaron Rodgers only became a political figure in the last few days.
Rodgers is reportedly a front-runner to be Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate on his Presidential campaign.
An RFK Jr./Aaron Rodgers ticket? We know who the measles is voting for this November. pic.twitter.com/Dsg0p7W1bL
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) March 14, 2024
Not sure how running for President, alongside an extremist third party candidate, would affect his NFL career, but this is where we are as a nation. RFK Jr.’s chances of winning the Presidency are about on par with the Jets winning the next Super Bowl.
Brown is likely leaking this now, after holding it for over a decade, because now this information is much more relevant. The insane, idiotic meanderings of Aaron Rodgers didn’t reach the level of “potentially dangerous to society” until this week.
Still she could have given it to a sports media colleague, and they could have leaked it. After all, this is one of the biggest problems with the perception of Aaron Rodgers, the individual brand. A lot of the media who cover Aaron Rodgers still portray him as quirky and colorful, even though he holds a lot of viewpoints that are very harmful to the population at large.
This has to stop immediately, and should have stopped long ago.
Even after the Packers legend was found to have deliberately misled his team and the league about his vaccination status, the media was still giving him kid gloves treatment.
What a pair the Packers have now, when it comes to club legends. Half the Green Bay Mt. Rushmore is Rodgers and Brett Favre.
So you have someone who believes whatever the most insane YouTuber claims and a guy who both a.) stole money from poor children via a state apparatus and
b.) tried to cheat on his wife with a co-worker half his age by texting her photos of his junk.
Quite the duo.
For the sake of Packers fans, I hope nothing damning about Bart Starr and/or Vince Lombardi comes out.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.