Aaron Rodgers has developed a reputation as one of the most polarizing figures in American sports. One would think that his contrarian viewpoint on the COVID vaccination would endear him to news outlet Newsmax, which has gained notoriety among political media and many who favor conservative politics.
Rodgers isn’t for everyone and, surprisingly, he isn’t for Newsmax host Greg Kelly.
Whether it’s embarking on a four-day darkness retreat, cosplaying as Cameron Poe, or debuting a new tattoo, it’s hard to categorize Rodgers as “normal.” So, it’s understandable that the 39-year-old quarterback isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. The likes of Keith Olbermann have since celebrated Rodgers’ season-ending injury because of his viewpoint on the COVID-19 vaccine, but Kelly wasn’t celebrating his injury. It was more like he was reprimanding Rodgers.
He began his segment touting that he saw Rodgers’ downfall or his untimely injury “coming,” as if Kelly knew that the New York Jets quarterback would be susceptible to an Achilles injury while playing a Monday Night Football game on rain-soaked turf.
Newsmax host Greg Kelly knows why Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles: Ayahuasca.
"How about going to church?… Ayahuasca tea is a crummy substitute for God." pic.twitter.com/cXPb9oEME9
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 14, 2023
According to MeidasTouch, Kelly said since Rodgers started experimenting with psychedelics, he’s lost the “eye of the tiger.” Whatever that means is anyone’s guess, but because of his use of psychedelic drugs, particularly ayahuasca, Kelly believes that the future Hall of Famer “can’t be all happy and goofy all the time.”
It sure sounds like he’s leaning into a “Real men don’t have emotions” bit, but I digress.
That’s not even the weirdest part of the rant, as Kelly goes on to blame an unlikely source for Rodgers suffering an Achilles injury.
“Something happened to this guy and I think I know what it was,” Kelly explained. “Um, drugs. Yeah! He got involved in psychedelics. This ayahuasca tea, something like that? That gives you this, ‘Ooh, I love you, bro,’ kind of mentality. It’s not good.”
“He took it and he encouraged others to do the same,” Kelly added. “And I think it’s a very harmful message.”
Kelly had no idea “what the hell” Rodgers was talking about as he shared a clip of the Jets’ quarterback talking about his ayahuasca experience and self-love on the Aubrey Marcus Podcast.
“How about going to church?” Kelly asked. “Ayahuasca tea is a crummy substitute for God.”
That’s an interesting way of saying that Rodgers got hurt because he ignored God for drugs.
Whatever you think of Rodgers, it’s just such an absurd principle.
Maybe Kelly is still upset over Saturday Night Live spoofing Newsmax, imagining a sketch titled “Sportsmax,” in which a spinoff network took the approach of insisting Donald Trump won the 2020 election and applied it to the 2020 New York Jets, who were 0-12 at the time during the 2020 NFL season.
New York is now a far cry from starting a season 0-12, but Kelly isn’t too far removed from insisting things that just aren’t true.
