I focus on college football, I’m an expert on college football. But as a sports fan, I have opinions on many different sports and leagues. In this edition of Mike On Sports, I have to give my take on Aaron Rodgers missing mandatory mini camp.
Rodgers is selfish. We all know this. He’s also a bit nutty with his conspiracy theories and political views. But he’s immensely talented and has an unbelievable amount of NFL experience. So should he get a pass for missing a few days of NY Jets mandatory mini camp to attend an event “important to him”? Absolutely not.
Fans of Rodgers are predictable. Rodgers has seen more in the NFL than nearly the entire roster combined so he should get a pass. He’s coming off a season-ending injury so less wasted practice time is better as he might get hurt. Rodgers is the key to the NY Jets and we need him happy so he can miss a few days. All of these thoughts are wrong.
Rodgers is the leader of the team. He sets the tone. As the franchise QB his commitment to the team is vital and this sends a message to the rest of the team. Even if he was injured he should be there leading the team. Rodgers is a great player and a Hall of Famer. He’s a Super Bowl winner. But he’s also been rumored to be selfish and divisive and missing mandatory practice speaks to his thoughts that he’s bigger and more important to the team
Many Deion cult fans claimed we were biased and racist when we railed on Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders missing football meetings to walk the catwalk for Louis Vuitton this winter. But that’s not it. This isn’t about hate for a player because he’s black (Sanders) or hate for a player because he’s white (Rodgers). This is about leadership and how a locker room can be influenced by the actions of a quarterback. It won’t go well in Colorado even if that seems like a blip and it won’t go well in New York either. Other players are going to question their level of commitment if the marquee superstar isn’t committed himself.
