Aaron Rodgers Comments on Whether NFL Games Should Be Played

Former Cal star pulls out a lot of statistics, showing he is pretty well informed on the issue

A lot of players have opinions about if and when the NFL should start playing games, but when a player the stature of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has comments about that issue people tend to listen. Of course, Cal fans have a particular interest in what Rodgers says because he starred for the Golden Bears for two seasons.

Stephen Watson of WISN-TV in Milwaukee asked Rodgers: “Given the state of our country and world at this point, do you believe it is safe to play football this season?”

Rodgers provided this answer in the story dated May 16 (a WISN audio of the answer is available here):

"Yeah that’s a good question. Like many of us, and I’ve seen a lot of comments on this, and obviously my story coming back from Peru before the country kind of went into a lockdown, I think we all were buying into the idea of quarantine to flatten the curve.

“I think there are a lot of questions now that it’s more of a house arrest to find a cure with people wondering what exactly that means as far as the future of the country and the freedoms we are allowed to have at this point.

“I think sports has always been something that’s brought people together. I’m very hopeful that we can have a season. I think the important thing to think about, though which is more important than that is the state of the country and the fact that we have 36-plus million people on unemployment right now. You have rising poverty levels to go along with the unemployment. You have suicide hotline is up 8,000 percent. There’s a lot of problems going on in the country right now associated with the fear around this pandemic. I hope that we can use some common sense moving forward and make decisions that are going to be in the best interests of all people moving forward, and I hope that sports is a part of that at some point."

It is a thoughtful, informed answer, although Rodgers is careful not to specifically divulge any real opinion about whether the NFL should play games this year. He seems—and, I repeat, seems—to be suggesting that things should be opened up and games should be played.

When asked about the possibility of playing games without fans, Rodgers said, according to the WISN report, “I haven’t let my mind go there yet. I hope that’s not the reality.”

Rodgers got more attention for his recent comments regarding the Packers drafting quarterback Jordan Love in the first round. His comments on that issue are available here.

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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