Aaron Rodgers Hates Cancer Patients, According To One Angry Columnist

Aaron Rodgers played the game of his career on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, and after a few years of questions about his ability as a franchise quarterback, Rodgers left little doubt about his ability to play the golden boy for the Green Bay Packers going forward.

But did you know he doesn’t care about cancer patients?! Just look at him ignore this lady!

As Mike Florio angrily scribbled at NBC’s Pro Football Talk, golden boy or not, Aaron Rodgers has a lot to learn about where his money comes from:

Rodgers needs to realize that without people like Jan Cavanaugh, whose passion for pro football prompted her to go to the airport after a radiation treatment in the hopes of getting Rodgers to sign the pink hat with the Packers logo that she always wears, make his entire lifestyle possible. Otherwise, he’d be no different than a guy who’s really good at throwing darts or horseshoes or cornhole bags. He’d derive personal satisfaction from the use of his God-given skills, but not much if any money.

We hope this strikes a chord with all pro athletes. The fans are the reason you get paid the big bucks.

Ugh.

The other side of the story is after the jump.

As Aaron Nagler points out at Cheesehead TV, there’s more nuance to this particular story than Florio’s kneejerk screed would suggest. While Nagler contends that Florio’s piece was the by-product of Florio playing politics among NFL agents, I tend to think it was Florio pandering to the bleeding hearts across America who jump at the chance to see millionaire athletes exposed for the greedy, selfish, neanderthals that so many Americans suspect they are.

In any case, this much is certain (emphasis added):

[Florio] has a real pulpit to preach from and today he chose to preach about Aaron Rodgers walking by a woman with cancer who wanted his autograph, an event he only knew about because of a 3 second clip he saw online with about as little true context as possible.

...Shortly after this very public back and forth I heard quite reliably that Aaron Rodgers spoke to and signed an autograph for Jan Cavanaugh just last week before the Packers’ Wild Card game victory over Philadelphia. ... There’s little to no context to the image and the participants. There’s nothing to let the viewer know that just last week - without any cameras around - Rodgers spent time speaking with Cavanaugh and gave her an autograph.

But the damage is done. As swiftly as Florio and Pro Football Talk disregarded context, so did millions of Americans that read his article, and will now tell their friends what a jerk Aaron Rodgers is. “He even ignored a cancer patient!” they’ll say. “I read it on the internet!”

And Florio looks like the great, moral hero here, doing the yeoman’s work, unafraid to undress these arrogant superstars. This while NBC sees the traffic his zeal creates, watches the money pile up, and calls Pro Football Talk a great investment.

Context be damned, demonization is good business. People will see something like his Aaron Rodgers story, then send it to their friends, and everyone will feel better about themselves as they point at these supposedly selfish athletes, and say, “We won’t stand for it!”

Yes, let there be no doubt: Mike Florio knows exactly where his money comes from.