Aaron Rodgers responded to Ryan Clark’s recent criticism of him with a bizarre rant on Tuesday, as he urged the ex-Steelers star to disclose his Covid vaccination status and accused him of being ‘captured by a propaganda psy-op.’
Clark, now an analyst for ESPN, blasted Rodgers as a ‘fraud’ last week, after the Jets quarterback called out ex-players who give their opinions on TV to ‘stay relevant.’
In response to Clark’s latest remark, Rodgers ended his weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show (which is also on ESPN) by announcing that he had a ‘PSA.’
‘Say whatever the f*** you want about me, I don’t care. But just before you do it, whether you state your name, your accolades, pronouns, whatever it is – just state your vax status,’ he said, not naming Clark but appearing to refer to him.
‘So that anything you say afterwards get put in the right light. Just get it out there. Because then when you say things about me people can at least be like, ‘Oh you are captured by the multi-billion dollar propaganda psy-op’ and you’re still upset about it.’
He later said, ‘Do a little bit of digging, then you know where it’s all coming from. Right, you’re captured, you’re highly vaccinated and then say whatever the hell you wanna say about it me, because I couldn’t give two s***s about it.’
“I just got a PSA..
Just a quick reminder” 😂😂 ~ @AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/6dI6X86Hwp
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 17, 2024
Rodgers added that the unnamed antagonist should disclose their vaccination status when they appear on shows and didn’t ‘just need a broach with your initials on it.’
That remark was a rather clear reference to Clark, who has been known to wear his own initials on suits.
Clark joked on X afterwards that it was actually a ‘lapel pin’ as he responded to Rodgers with several posts.
‘Man, I wish @PatMcAfeeShow would’ve let him keep going! It just got good. I don’t know about the Vax stuff, but shoot he almost put a name on it. It’s a lapel pin BTW!!, he said.
He added, ‘I’m not too concerned with Aaron, but Pat did mention jealousy, dropped some eff bombs about the $ he’s made… Good for him, I love what he’s created. I have no issue with him paying Aaron. I have an issue with Aaron behaving like he’s not paid to do exactly what the people he’s talking about do!’
Clark, aside from working for ESPN, has his own media company, The Pivot, as well.
Rodgers said on Tuesday that he has never taken any money from McAfee to appear on the show. It was reported by the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand last year that Rodgers has actually received ‘millions’ to appear on the program.
Clark had also claimed in his initial remarks that Rodgers was being paid by the McAfee show for his analysis.
Rodgers later added to McAfee that there was ‘jealousy’ regarding McAfee’s show: ‘You’re not just a bunch of guys sitting around trying to come up with the most ridiculous take, and justifying your own self-worth nonstop.
‘Just have a little humility when you’re talking about guys out there that you don’t actually know what they’re going through… when you’re making these grand statements about the type of person they are,’ he later said, after adding that people will soon forget about his career as well.
In his initial remarks which set Clark off, Rodgers told McAfee ‘I’m talking about these experts on TV who nobody remembers what they did in their career,’ Rodgers said on the show this week. ‘So in order for them to stay relevant, they have to make comments that keep them in the conversation. That wasn’t going on in 2008, 2009. The ‘SportsCenter’ of my youth, those guys made highlights so much fun. And that’s what they showed on ‘SportsCenter.’
‘Now it’s all talk shows and people whose opinions are so important now and they believe they’re the celebrities now, they’re the stars for just being able to talk about sports or give a take about sports, many of which are unfounded or asinine, as we all know. But that’s the environment we’re in now.’
Clark later responded, ‘My biggest problem with Aaron Rodgers… is you’re doing the exact same thing. The reason that you’re getting this opportunity to say these asinine things is because someone is paying you who is exactly the same thing that you are now speaking out against.
‘This dude is once again tone deaf. This dude is once again unaware. This dude is once again arrogant to a point that’s almost sickening because he says these things and he talks tough and he behaves in this way, but he ain’t.
‘He has all of this cachet because he’s a good player. But there ain’t people around here that come around and talk about what type of leader you are. There ain’t people that come around here and talk about wanting to follow you because of the type of man you have been.
‘This dude is a fraud. He’s been a fraud, and he could throw a football, and that’s where it stops. Once that talent ends, so does him, and so does he. And so to sit up there, man, and to be just blatantly hypocritical is funny and sickening at the same time.’
