Aaron Rodgers is the subject of a new unauthorized biography of the NFL superstar quarterback by Ian O’Connor.Coming out of the darkness: The Aaron Rodgers enigma.”
It’s truly a mystery.
One of the most successful NFL quarterbacks of all time, Rodgers defies many stereotypes of an NFL quarterback and often bucks popular media trends by speaking his mind about politics — he’s even spoken about locking himself in a dark cabin and taking drugs.
This is not your father, Joe Montana.
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An episode in the book resurfaced dealing with rumors that Rogers was gay.
The New Jets quarterback’s answer was totally unbelievable.
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To summarize, Rodgers had a personal assistant early in his career in Green Bay with whom he was apparently very close, and when their business relationship soured, there was widespread speculation for various reasons that the two were gay.
Rogers mostly stayed silent on the subject, but in one interview he denied being gay and let everyone know that he really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really likes women.
Now, according to reports about the unauthorized biography, Rodgers claims that his only problem was that the rumors might affect his “numerous” gay friends.
That’s nonsense.
Controversy over Rogers’ sexual orientation erupted in 2013 and 2014, coinciding with the nation’s heated debate over the legalization of same-sex marriage.
If Rogers cared so much about his gay friends, why did he abandon the conversation at this moment? Why didn’t he defend them and their relationships?
The answer seems pretty obvious to me: he didn’t care about his gay friends, or about their loving relationships.
He cared about his image and wanted everyone to know that, first and foremost, he was a serious, earnest, no-nonsense guy.
The other issue is personal, and it feels even more meaningful to me, having written the autobiography of former NFL offensive lineman Ryan O’Callaghan, who came out as gay.
Before the rumors started spreading, O’Callaghan was an offensive tackle for Rodgers at the University of California, and the two were very close friends. They met regularly and According to O’Callaghan in his book “My Life on the Line”: They had been talking about starting a business together.
That was literally days and weeks before rumors about Rodgers began to surface.
Then the rumors surfaced and Rogers addressed them, according to O’Callaghan, he cut off all contact with O’Callaghan. They had been in daily or weekly contact. Rogers, who says his only concern now was his gay friends, suddenly cut off all contact with them.
“Without warning, he suddenly cut off all communication,” O’Callaghan said in My Life On The Line. “In the weeks following his vacation, I texted and called him multiple times. When he still didn’t respond, I emailed him several times. We had been in regular contact, and he was going to fund a million-dollar project that I would be managing. Now there’s nothing. Zero. No communication.”
“Some may read this and assume that when word got out that Aaron was gay, he cut off contact with his gay friends. That may be the case, but we don’t know for sure.”
Their last communication was almost 11 years ago.
Rodgers “very” cared about his gay friends, so he hasn’t been in contact with his closest gay friend for 11 years since the rumors surfaced (and his gay friends have supported him privately, personally).
Rodgers deserves credit for speaking out against anti-gay rhetoric both in and outside of football. This should not be interpreted as him being homophobic. In contrast, I consider him to be 100% tolerant of gay people.
But the explanation he gives for his reaction to the “gay rumors” reads like a rationalization he cooked up in his head a decade later, ignoring the reality of the events of 2013 and 2014.
At the time, it was clear he had no interest in the gay community or our fight for equality, and he didn’t seem to care about his gay friends either, refusing to return their calls, texts, or emails.
Rogers’ version of this entire incident appears to be a complete lie, and it leaves us wondering what the truth is.
Source: Outsports – www.outsports.com
