Thursday night at the NFL Honors ceremony, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers won his second consecutive NFL MVP and fourth overall.
His four MVPs are now second all time, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, who has five. His play in the regular season was deserving of the award, as the future Hall of Famer passed for 4,115 yards, 37 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
The four picks were the same number he tossed in his 2020 MVP season. The last two seasons combined he’s tossed 85 touchdowns and just eight total interceptions. Impressive numbers despite not having any team hardware to show for it.
Aaron Rodgers win his fourth MVP award 🏆
He is now one behind Peyton Manning for the most all-time. #aaronrodgers #greenbaypackers #quarterback #nflawards #mostvaluableplayer #record #peytonmanning #denverbroncos #colts #broncos #superbowl pic.twitter.com/zCOUL5cjw5— Blaze Review (@blazereviewinc) February 11, 2022
But maybe he shouldn’t even have been on the field to win the award. Rodgers blatantly lied to the NFL about being vaccinated, breaking protocols on social distancing and masking while putting his coaches and teammates at risk to catch COVID-19.
Rodgers missed a start against the Kansas City Chiefs after testing positive during the season. Compare that to Colin Kaepernick, who protested against police brutality while also advocating the Black Lives Matter movement. While Rodgers was honored and celebrated by the media members who vote for the NFL honors, Kaepernick was blackballed out of the league. Fans took to Twitter to voice their displeasure about the situation.
While Kyrie Irving gets crucified for not being vaccinated and admitting that he wouldn’t get the shots, Rodgers is glorified for trying to outsmart the NFL while exposing countless others to the virus. It’s a weird dynamic.
https://twitter.com/madisonsiriusxm/status/1492095309312364556?s=21
Back in November on the “Pat McAfee Show,” Rodgers claimed he didn’t lie.
“I didn’t lie in the initial press conference,” Rodgers said. “My plan was to say I had been immunized. It wasn’t some sort of ruse or lie.
“There was nothing deceptive about it. If there had been follow-up questions, I have answered them as well. The situation that I am in should be a conversation not a controversy. I have taken this very seriously. I’m not a COVID denier.”
While Rodgers is a great player, some fans pointed that he was given a pass based on his reputation and elite play on the field, which is something he shouldn’t have been afforded, especially after lying about his vaccination status. Rodgers didn’t seem very remorseful either after it was revealed that he wasn’t vaccinated. On the other hand, Kaep was judged almost exclusively for what he did off the field and the social views he expressed. But he wasn’t putting anyone at risk.
Fans Have Very Different Views Following Rodgers MVP Award Win: Controversy Surrounds His Win
Sports fans are fickle and look for any opportunity to express their displeasure with something. Of course, there were those who felt that race played a huge part in the double standard that Rodgers is afforded.
One Twitter user said it’s the difference between being Black and white.
Colin Kaepernick and Aaron Rodgers. The difference is black and white.
— GT (@ghetto_torture) November 10, 2021
Others were quick to say they never watched an NFL game this entire season because of the hypocrisy. In fact, for some that’s been going on since Kaepernick was blackballed from the league.
Aaron Rodgers MVP while lying and Colin Kaepernick still out in the cold for telling the truth is all you need to know why I haven't watched a single NFL game this season.
— Henk Campher (@findhenk) February 11, 2022
Another fan’s tweet suggested that Rodgers’ actions could have had real-life consequences, as he was around teammates and opponents without a mask and knowingly unvaccinated.
The fan expressed his disappointment that Rodgers’ arrogance seems to carry a lesser punishment than speaking out about “police brutality and social injustice.”
https://twitter.com/billywr55688541/status/1492202536186621957?s=21
This CK7 situation is always going to fester anytime a white player gets away with something as obvious as this. There’s no doubt ARod12 deserved the MVP award, but how he got to play an entire season despite the mounting controversy surrounding him, is shameful and hypocritical to the highest degree. Just a super-spreader quarterback doing whatever he so pleased.
The NFL has long shown its racial bias. The Black quarterback never receives the same amount of time to develop and figure it out as his white counterparts. Black head coaches aren’t hired, and when a Black quarterback is good, they say he’s great with his legs before his arm, which is almost saying he doesn’t understand enough of the position to play it from the neck up.
The NFL is now trying to have Blacks bid on franchises that become available, as they’ve reportedly asked both media tycoon Byron Allen and businessman Robert F. Smith to place a bid on the Broncos.
In the meantime, the NFL continues to push its agenda and make policy along a segregated plane. How can you get upset with any athlete in any sport who refuses to get vaccinated but celebrate an obnoxious, privileged athlete who didn’t care at all for anyone but himself? Strange world we live in.
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