If you follow Dan Graziano on social media, you can likely tell how he feels about Aaron Rodgers.
But in case you’ve been unable to read between the lines of some of his retweets, the ESPN National NFL Insider made it clear on Wednesday.
Appearing on ESPN Radio’s UnSportsmanlike with Evan, Canty, and Michelle, Graziano was asked about the reaction to Rodgers’ recent appearances on The Pat McAfee Show (which airs on ESPN). In answering, the longtime NFL insider didn’t mince words, making it clear where he stands on the four-time MVP.
“You guys are going to get me in trouble,” Graziano said with a groan. “From the Jets’ perspective, since Rodgers got there — in fact, since before Rodgers got there — everything has seemed to be about having Aaron Rodgers and doing whatever that took to maintain. So I don’t think you’re going to hear anything bad from the Jets about Aaron Rodgers, no matter what lunatic insanity he spews on anyone’s airwaves. I think they’re all in, for better or worse.
He continued: “In terms of around the league, I think Aaron’s sort of living down to his reputation in a lot of ways as an attention-hungry self-absorbed individual. You hear a lot of things about how he’s been in the Jets building since he got there and they’re positive. Con artists can be very convincing. I think if he’s got the Jets fooled about who he is, then that’s too bad for them and eventually they’ll pay the price for it. He’s obviously a liar and a narcissistic con artist who is bad for everything he touches and I think ultimately the Jets will pay the price.”
https://twitter.com/ChrisCanty99/status/1745147432030134473
Well, Dan. How do you really feel?
Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with Graziano’s opinion, it’s somewhat jarring to hear an ESPN employee speak about Rodgers in such terms — let alone one of the network’s NFL insiders. While Graziano’s role has evolved into him primarily being a panelist/sometimes host on Get Up, it’s not often that you hear a reporter call one of the most prominent players in the league he covers “a liar and a narcissistic con artist.”
The irony is that while Graziano’s comments might have previously resulted in him being punished by ESPN, the network would seemingly having a tough time reprimanding an employee for comments about Rodgers after the quarterback used its own airwaves to take shots at ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel last week. It’s also a safe bet that Graziano isn’t the only person at “The Worldwide Leader” who feels this way about Rodgers, who had his last weekly McAfee Show appearance of the NFL season on Tuesday.
For those keeping score at home, what you have here is an ESPN NFL reporter being critical of an NFL quarterback who has used ESPN airwaves to take aim at one of the most high profile employees of ESPN’s parent company (in addition to furthering his controversial stances on COVID-19, Dr. Anthony Fauci and “the woke mob.”). If Rodgers’ goal with his weekly appearances on The Pat McAfee Show was to cause as much chaos as possible, then Graziano’s comments are just the latest evidence that he was very successful in doing just that.
