The President isn’t the only one who’ll use Twitter to push back against news reports with which he disagrees. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers employed the social-media platform on Tuesday to do the same.
Retweeting a link from the team’s official website that contained a thoroughly boring and perfunctory title, Rodgers said this: “I feel like the title of this article needs more click bait. Come on GBP, make something up, or talk to some unnamed sources close to me or something to beef up the clicks.”
Rodgers then added a stream of largely humorous hash tags: “#dalailamaisapackersfan #bighitter #totalconsciousness #relax #fakenewstuesday #GBSnowday #meditation.”
The message represents Rodgers’ effort to refute Charles Robinson’s report that Rodgers was “‘frustrated’ and ‘emotional’ over a lack of communication from the front office prior to some significant decisions this offseason,” without directly mentioning Robinson (Rodgers missed a chance to call him “Cheatin’ Charles”) or his publication. Still, Rodgers has essentially called Robinson’s story phony and false.
It’s a strong accusation to make. If that’s what Rodgers believes, he should just say so. He should say, for example, that there aren’t two sources close to him who have said anything credible or accurate about Rodgers’ reaction to the firing of quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt or the termination of receiver Jordy Nelson, and that Robinson is either talking to people who are lying about knowing what Rodgers thinks or engaging in flat-out fabrication.
If Rodgers is going to tuck a claim of “fake news” into a laundry list of funny hash tags, he needs to be more clear with his message. And his message is that Robinson is telling a lie about Rodgers.
I personally believe Robinson; NFL reporters with a solid track record rarely make things up, especially when there is an endless supply of stories to report and opinions to craft. Rodgers’ effort to dismiss the report in sly, subtle, and sarcastic fashion serves only to make me believe it even more.
That said, I don’t fault Rodgers for being pissed about not getting a fair chance to speak his mind about the firings of Van Pelt and Nelson. Heck, I’d be pissed if it were me, and I’d expect Rodgers to be pissed if I were the Packers.
The biggest question that likely will never be answered is whether the Packers pissed him off accidentally, or intentionally.
For more, here’s Tuesday’s PFT PM podcast, featuring an in-depth conversation with Robinson, along with plenty of other content and answers to plenty of your questions.