Aaron Rodgers doesn’t have too many media members coming to his defense right now, but Richard Sherman did just that.
Wednesday morning on FS1’s Undisputed, Skip Bayless broached the topic of Rodgers by citing Nancy Armour’s USA Today column titled Like Pete Rose, Barry Bonds and Lance Armstrong, Aaron Rodgers trashes his legacy.
Richard Sherman rips the idea of comparing Aaron Rodgers to Barry Bonds, Lance Armstrong or Pete Rose pic.twitter.com/XGH02gsxj7
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 10, 2024
“I think that’s a reckless article,” Sherman ranted. “I don’t agree that it ever should have been written. I agree that Aaron has said some controversial things, and that should deserve criticism. But to compare him to people that have cheated the game, that have cheated the sports they play – he didn’t cheat.
“He didn’t take steroids. He didn’t do anything on the football field to tarnish his legacy, so to say that and write that in the article is beyond reckless and ridiculous. It’s ridiculous for anybody to associate those things because what you’re trying to associate is him cheating the game. You’re associating him with people who have cheated in their sports.”
In the last week, Rodgers has appeared on ESPN and The Pat McAfee Show, where he implied ABC host Jimmy Kimmel’s name could surface on a list of Jeffrey Epstein’s associates, and later spent the better part of an hour attacking the “woke establishment.” Rodgers has not been accused of doing anything to cheat or alter the game on the field, but he is in the process of altering how he will be remembered once he decides to retire.
“Is he being a little crazy right now, a conspiracy theorist? No question,” Sherman admitted. “That’s beyond debate…He’s gonna sound crazy, it’s gonna be associated with him. But to say it affects his football legacy, that’s where I draw the line. That’s where I draw the ire. Because you compare it to people who sullied their legacy by cheating…I take offense by somebody really trying to associate that in that way.”
Bayless later noted that Armour probably did not write the headline that Sherman took issue with. Although she did make a similar point in the column.
“Pete Rose can never separate himself from his gambling on baseball,” Armour wrote. “Barry Bonds’ records are forever tainted by the question of how much performance-enhancing drugs contributed to them. Lance Armstrong was undone by both his cheating and his scorched earth campaign to keep it hidden.”
Still, Armour appeared to be comparing Rodgers to Rose, Bonds and Armstrong because they were generational athletes who aren’t recognized or honored for their accomplishments. Is it going to take more than a few years of Pat McAfee appearances to keep Rodgers out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Yes. Rodgers probably has not reached the level of Rose, Bonds and Armstrong yet, but he’s absolutely in the process of tarnishing his legacy.
