The New York Jets will consistently be at the center of off the field stories as long as Aaron Rodgers is QB1. The Green Bay Packers experienced that for years and it has been no different in New York.
However, the latest report Rodgers responded to certainly caught the attention of more than just football fans.
New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers Responds To Questions About Him Being Gay
Almost a decade ago, Rodgers responded bluntly to the rumor that he was gay.
Earlier this year, Ian O’Connor released a biography on the future Hall of Famer, detailing some of the highlights of his life. Although he thinks O’Connor put in a lot of effort on the biography, Rodgers made it clear that not everything in it will be accurate:
“He did a lot of research,” said the four-time NFL MVP.
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0:30“It has nothing to do with me. But he did a lot of research on his own. He’s done other books with other famous people in sports. I think he reached out to 500 people and talked to maybe half those people.”
Included in the book is a story on why Rodgers chose to speak out against the gay rumors back in 2013.
Back in 2013, rumors swirled about the quarterback’s sexuality. He chose to address them on a radio show.
“Yeah, I’m just going to say, I’m not gay. I really, really like women. That’s all I can say about that,” Rodgers said. “There’s always going to be silly stuff out there in the media, and you can’t worry too much about [it], and I don’t. … I think there should be, professional is professional, and personal is personal. And that’s just how I’m going to keep it.”
In O’Connor’s book, Rodgers opened up about why he responded to the rumor.
“I think I was upset at the framing [of the rumor] because it was meant to shame the idea of being gay, and I have so many friends that are gay in the community,” Rodgers told O’Connor, via the New York Post. “And right before that, [Wilde] and I actually have talked about this multiple times, and I said, ‘I want to go after them, the people saying this.’ Not in relation to me, because I could give a shit what they thought about me, but that they’re using this to shame, like it’s a bad thing to be gay. Like it’s a negative.
“That’s what I wanted to go after. And [Wilde] said, ‘You should just let it go and just say no.’ I wish I had done the former because that’s how I really felt. I’m like, say anything you want about me, but do you understand these people are using this to shame the idea of being gay?
That’s just disrespectful to all my friends who are in the community who don’t believe that it’s a choice. They were making it seem like you’re shaming people for being gay, when a lot of them, if you ask them, they didn’t ask for this life. ‘This is who I am.’ So, I wished I would have handled it that way, and I don’t blame Jason. We’ve talked it out.”
No matter your opinion of Rodgers, he isn’t afraid to speak his mind and stand up for what he believes in.
