Dan Leberfeld Nails Media Obsession With Aaron Rodgers

[JetNation]

By now it has to be patently obvious to even the most docile observer that the US Sports media treats Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers far differently than they do most players.  As we pointed out a few weeks ago here, making up or embellishing Rodgers-related stories has become a full-time job for some.

Now Dan Leberfeld of Jets Confidential and SiriusXM has shared his thoughts on why this is the case.

Tops on his list was Rodgers’ lack of availability to scribes. “Rodgers is an easy target for most sports talking heads and insiders because he doesn’t play ball with any of them.” points out Leberfeld. He continued, “they have nothing to lose trashing Rodgers. They aren’t losing scoops or access because he’s not giving them any”.

It’s a great point from Leberfeld.  A highly accessible superstar is far less likely to get raked over the coals because a reporter may not want to hurt their chances at a scoop or exclusive interview.  With Rodgers, if you know you’re getting neither, why not just tee off and grab some clicks?

We’ve pointed it out in the past and Leberfeld echoes our sentiment in saying that going after Aaron Rodgers has become a “cottage industry”.  This is perhaps the most accurate part of what Leberfeld was saying.

 

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[T0mShane]

Rodgers makes his own problems with the press because he’s an aging narcissist who says weird contrarian sh*t to gain attention (sup), but he combines that with a benevolent, above-it-all stoner vibe that allows people to trash him with little consequence. I think Rodgers is probably a good dude one on one, but gets too caught up in maintaining an image as some libertarian-adjacent culture warrior but he’s not committed enough to the bit to make it work

[Barry McCockinner]

48 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

Rodgers makes his own problems with the press because he’s an aging narcissist who says weird contrarian sh*t to gain attention (sup), but he combines that with a benevolent, above-it-all stoner vibe that allows people to trash him with little consequence. I think Rodgers is probably a good dude one on one, but gets too caught up in maintaining an image as some libertarian-adjacent culture warrior but he’s not committed enough to the bit to make it work

[AFJF]

2 hours ago, T0mShane said:

Rodgers makes his own problems with the press because he’s an aging narcissist who says weird contrarian sh*t to gain attention (sup), but he combines that with a benevolent, above-it-all stoner vibe that allows people to trash him with little consequence. I think Rodgers is probably a good dude one on one, but gets too caught up in maintaining an image as some libertarian-adjacent culture warrior but he’s not committed enough to the bit to make it work

Honestly, how many HoF level players do you believe aren't narcissists on some level?

They go after Rodgers because he treats them like the trash that they are.

As Leberfeld said, they get nothing from him so they have nothing to lose by going after him.

Last season when the team put Nick Bawden on the practice squad for 10 minutes they ran 1,000 articles on a guy wh plays six snaps a week said AR was a selfish a**hole for wanting to practice.

Fast forward to last week, and AR missing a couple hours of practice meant he "wasn't invested" and "lacked commitment".

Shows up to practice, he's a jerk.

Misses a couple hours of practice, he's a jerk.
 

[T0mShane]

5 minutes ago, AFJF said:

Honestly, how many HoF level players do you believe aren't narcissists on some level?

They go after Rodgers because he treats them like the trash that they are.

As Leberfeld said, they get nothing from him so they have nothing to lose by going after him.

Last season when the team put Nick Bawden on the practice squad for 10 minutes they ran 1,000 articles on a guy wh plays six snaps a week said AR was a selfish a**hole for wanting to practice.

Fast forward to last week, and AR missing a couple hours of practice meant he "wasn't invested" and "lacked commitment".

Shows up to practice, he's a jerk.

Misses a couple hours of practice, he's a jerk.
 

Right, but they have ample evidence that he’s a jerk. Everyone in that Green Bay orbit will tell you he’s a jerk. Mike McCarthy and Matt LaFleur think he’s a jerk. His own family thinks he’s a jerk. It’s ok to be a jerk athlete. Unfortunately for Rodgers, he’s an old jerk athlete playing for an historically inept franchise, so the knives are out. Likewise, the media also sucks, but Rodgers clearly invites their ire and revels in playing the role of the heel. Dude is going to implode when he retires and no longer has the evil media giving a sh*t about his whereabouts. 

[AFJF]

5 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

Right, but they have ample evidence that he’s a jerk. Everyone in that Green Bay orbit will tell you he’s a jerk. Mike McCarthy and Matt LaFleur think he’s a jerk. His own family thinks he’s a jerk. It’s ok to be a jerk athlete. Unfortunately for Rodgers, he’s an old jerk athlete playing for an historically inept franchise, so the knives are out. Likewise, the media also sucks, but Rodgers clearly invites their ire and revels in playing the role of the heel. Dude is going to implode when he retires and no longer has the evil media giving a sh*t about his whereabouts. 

It just comes down to how he treats them.  They're trash humans so he treats them like trash humans.  All of the other things they poke at just gives them a convenient excuse to pretend it isn't about their bruised egos.  If he danced for them they'd be kissing as arse.

I wouldn't put it past him to stay in the NYC area and find a way to stay in front of the cameras when all is said and done.

 

[T0mShane]

1 minute ago, AFJF said:

It just comes down to how he treats them.  They're trash humans so he treats them like trash humans.  All of the other things they poke at just gives them a convenient excuse to pretend it isn't about their bruised egos.  If he danced for them they'd be kissing as arse.

I wouldn't put it past him to stay in the NYC area and find a way to stay in front of the cameras when all is said and done.

 

Who’s the QB who gives the media anything of note? Mahomes is the biggest star in the sport and he’s famously guarded. Stafford doesn’t talk. Burrow is doing fashion week in Paris and I can’t recall a single media-borne quote from him ever. Lamar? Tua?  I don’t think these reporters are all that butthurt about Rodgers. The beat guys never say a bad word about him, for instance, even though they’s supposedly be most impacted by Rodgers freezing them out. I just think Rodgers goes out of his way to be weird and antagonistic toward what is a very unserious enterprise (NFL-aligned media) and it’s become the mode to take shots at him for it. Rodgers is a dude who has enemies, and those enemies talk to the Russinis and the Breers of the world. The stories write themselves. 

[RutgersJetFan]

Oh spare me this victim bullsh*t already. Guy’s a chode. 

[RutgersJetFan]

7 hours ago, T0mShane said:

Rodgers makes his own problems with the press because he’s an aging narcissist who says weird contrarian sh*t to gain attention (sup), but he combines that with a benevolent, above-it-all stoner vibe that allows people to trash him with little consequence. I think Rodgers is probably a good dude one on one, but gets too caught up in maintaining an image as some libertarian-adjacent culture warrior but he’s not committed enough to the bit to make it work

Somewhere along the way he convinced like 1/3 of America that he’s Denis Leary in Demolition Man and it’s the most bizarre sh*t. 

[T0mShane]

10 minutes ago, RutgersJetFan said:

Somewhere along the way he convinced like 1/3 of America that he’s Denis Leary in Demolition Man and it’s the most bizarre sh*t. 

Omg

 

[JustInFudge]

I wish I was an oscar mayer weiner, that is what I'd truly like to be!

Cause if I was an oscar mayer weiner, everyone would want to take a bite out of me!

[bicketybam]

All I care about is his play on the field. I've rooted for plenty of players who were "dicks." As long as they aren't beating women, children or animals it just doesn't really matter. When he was with GB I thought he was an arrogant douche and I rooted against him. When he came to the Jets, he became our arrogant douche and as long as he produces on the field I don't give a flying Freddie. It sucks he got injured last year but that's not his fault. Hopefully he stays healthy this year and leads us to the promised land.

[FidelioJet]

Other than being a Jet - Rodgers bring all of this on himself. 

 

[OilfieldJet]

9 hours ago, T0mShane said:

an aging narcissist who says weird contrarian

a benevolent, above-it-all stoner vibe

some libertarian-adjacent culture warrior

A triple triple! This is a sports board? Try reading this before coffee.

[Dcat]

2 hours ago, RutgersJetFan said:

Somewhere along the way he convinced like 1/3 of America that he’s Denis Leary in Demolition Man and it’s the most bizarre sh*t. 

yeah.. he's fighting the battle against Taco Bell taking over the restaurant world.  

[bicketybam]

10 minutes ago, FidelioJet said:

Other than being a Jet - Rodgers bring all of this on himself. 

 

Rodgers is who he is and I really don't think he cares about the media articles and reactions .He doesn't see it as bringing anything onto himself. 

[Dcat]

I always forget that Jets Confidential still exists.  I remember getting excited whenever I received one of Leberfeld's  Jets Confidential newsletters in the mail in the 1980's.   No internet.  JC was a "must subscribe" for Jets fans back then.

[T0mShane]

2 minutes ago, Dcat said:

I always forget that Jets Confidential still exists.  I remember getting excited whenever I received one of Leberfeld's  Jets Confidential newsletters in the mail in the 1980's.   No internet.  JC was a "must subscribe" for Jets fans back then.

Whispers!

[The Crusher]

2 hours ago, RutgersJetFan said:

Somewhere along the way he convinced like 1/3 of America that he’s Denis Leary in Demolition Man and it’s the most bizarre sh*t. 

Im still waiting for all restaurants to be Taco Bell. 

[Matt39]

5 minutes ago, The Crusher said:

Im still waiting for all restaurants to be Taco Bell. 

It’s quite the boggle 

[Jet Nut]

6 hours ago, T0mShane said:

Who’s the QB who gives the media anything of note? Mahomes is the biggest star in the sport and he’s famously guarded. Stafford doesn’t talk. Burrow is doing fashion week in Paris and I can’t recall a single media-borne quote from him ever. Lamar? Tua?  I don’t think these reporters are all that butthurt about Rodgers. The beat guys never say a bad word about him, for instance, even though they’s supposedly be most impacted by Rodgers freezing them out. I just think Rodgers goes out of his way to be weird and antagonistic toward what is a very unserious enterprise (NFL-aligned media) and it’s become the mode to take shots at him for it. Rodgers is a dude who has enemies, and those enemies talk to the Russinis and the Breers of the world. The stories write themselves. 

What has Rodgers done since he’s been with this “historically inept” franchise that has made him deserved of the treatment he gets from the media?  
Hard to compare young QBs who play in KC, Cincy etc to a QB playing in NYC.  Rodgers was scrutinized and there were whispers about him being a strange dude, maybe a bit of a narcissist but not like what he’s getting here.  So what was it?  Basically what turned them off?  That he professed his love for everything NY, from coaching staff on down?  And let’s face it, nothing bad is ever discussed in places like KC, Cincy, Balt, etc about their teams or players.  Nothing like NY where the media scrutinizes everything and looks for any angle to separate itself from the other dozens media outlets.  

[The Crusher]

26 minutes ago, Dcat said:

I always forget that Jets Confidential still exists.  I remember getting excited whenever I received one of Leberfeld's  Jets Confidential newsletters in the mail in the 1980's.   No internet.  JC was a "must subscribe" for Jets fans back then.

100%

[UntouchableCrew]

6 hours ago, T0mShane said:

Rodgers goes out of his way to be weird and antagonistic toward what is a very unserious enterprise (NFL-aligned media) and it’s become the mode to take shots at him for it. 

This is all there is to it.

He invites it because he likes being a weird “above it” contrarian who goes out of his way to be actively antagonistic toward the media.

His choice but the idea that he’s a victim in this is silly. He does it deliberately. 

[Matt39]

19 minutes ago, UntouchableCrew said:

This is all there is to it.

He invites it because he likes being a weird “above it” contrarian who goes out of his way to be actively antagonistic toward the media.

His choice but the idea that he’s a victim in this is silly. He does it deliberately. 

Florio covers Rodgers like he’s covering the Berlin Wall coming down 

[peebag]

48 minutes ago, The Crusher said:

Im still waiting for all restaurants to be Taco Bell. 

The black bean burrito is quite possibly the strongest laxative that man has yet to develop.

[The Crusher]

Just now, peebag said:

The black bean burrito is quite possibly the strongest laxative that man has yet to develop.

Multi tasking is the future 

[bicketybam]

Rodgers has the media on his ignore list. 

 

[T0mShane]

45 minutes ago, Jet Nut said:

What has Rodgers done since he’s been with this “historically inept” franchise that has made him deserved of the treatment he gets from the media?  
Hard to compare young QBs who play in KC, Cincy etc to a QB playing in NYC.  Rodgers was scrutinized and there were whispers about him being a strange dude, maybe a bit of a narcissist but not like what he’s getting here.  So what was it?  Basically what turned them off?  That he professed his love for everything NY, from coaching staff on down?  And let’s face it, nothing bad is ever discussed in places like KC, Cincy, Balt, etc about their teams or players.  Nothing like NY where the media scrutinizes everything and looks for any angle to separate itself from the other dozens media outlets.  

Can you be specific about the poor treatment he’s received in New York? Because as far as I’ve seen and heard, the beat has consistently been kissing Rodgers’ (one) ring since he got here. Are we thinking of the Russini piece? 

[Jet Nut]

4 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

Can you be specific about the poor treatment he’s received in New York? Because as far as I’ve seen and heard, the beat has consistently been kissing Rodgers’ (one) ring since he got here. Are we thinking of the Russini piece? 

Isn’t the point here that he’s scrutinized more than Mahomes or Burrows etc?  
Im thinking the firestorm we had to hear because he took 2 days off after attending every off season practice, mandatory or optional for 2 years.  
Kind of like throwing the “one” in front of his ring.  Needless neg take that has nothing to do with the discussion. 

[nycdan]

Rodgers definitely does not 'play the media game'.  It likely annoys a lot of them that they can't get quotes/scoops/dirt from him so some snipe at him as the only way they have to vent their frustration.  

At the end of the day though, Rodgers is still a HoF QB and probably one of the 5 greatest passers of all time (arguably #1).  Meanwhile nobody cares about or will remember the names of any of these pissy journalists.  

So as long as Rodgers isn't committing felonies, and keeps on throwing beautiful passes, this time to our guys, I am 100% team Rodgers.  Yeah, he's a weird dude, but honestly, the world can use more 'harmless weird'.

[T0mShane]

4 minutes ago, Jet Nut said:

Isn’t the point here that he’s scrutinized more than Mahomes or Burrows etc?  
Im thinking the firestorm we had to hear because he took 2 days off after attending every off season practice, mandatory or optional for 2 years.  
Kind of like throwing the “one” in front of his ring.  Needless neg take that has nothing to do with the discussion. 

Ah not exactly. I brought up Mahomes, Burrow, etc in response to Glenn’s assertion that the media is mean to Rodgers because he “doesn’t give them anything.” The NFL has effectively created its own media ecosystem wherein nobody has to give them anything. To the contrary, Rodgers gives the media plenty to talk about, it’s just that so much of it is off the field emo nonsense. And recall that the otherwise silly missing mandatory camp thing was fomented by Saleh ******* up, again, and creating a story where there wasn’t one. 

[Jet Nut]

6 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

Ah not exactly. I brought up Mahomes, Burrow, etc in response to Glenn’s assertion that the media is mean to Rodgers because he “doesn’t give them anything.” The NFL has effectively created its own media ecosystem wherein nobody has to give them anything. To the contrary, Rodgers gives the media plenty to talk about, it’s just that so much of it is off the field emo nonsense. And recall that the otherwise silly missing mandatory camp thing was fomented by Saleh ******* up, again, and creating a story where there wasn’t one. 

Actually I think a part of it is his “I’ll talk to who I want to talk to” mantra.  A Mahomes etc need their asses kissed so reporters can just get the interview.  Rodgers, not really.

The two days he took off were scrutinized into his taking the team down, Salehs choice of words didn’t create that bit of nonsense.  The same people in the national media trashing Rodgers regularly call Saleh a fine young HC. 

[T0mShane]

3 minutes ago, Jet Nut said:

The same people in the national media trashing Rodgers regularly call Saleh a fine young HC. 

[T0mShane]

3 minutes ago, Jet Nut said:

Actually I think a part of it is his “I’ll talk to who I want to talk to” mantra.  A Mahomes etc need their asses kissed so reporters can just get the interview.  Rodgers, not really.

The two days he took off were scrutinized into his taking the team down, Salehs choice of words didn’t create that bit of nonsense.  The same people in the national media trashing Rodgers regularly call Saleh a fine young HC. 

When camp actually opens, Rodgers will be doing interviews every day. He’s rather engaging in that setting. I don’t get this idea that reporters are big mad that he’s inaccessible. He’s plenty accessible. 

[nycdan]

3 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

When camp actually opens, Rodgers will be doing interviews every day. He’s rather engaging in that setting. I don’t get this idea that reporters are big mad that he’s inaccessible. He’s plenty accessible. 

Yes.  We've seen him be very engaging on Hard Knocks and elsewhere.  I do think he dictates who he talks to and when, but when he roasted Adam Schefter on the Pat McAfee show, I think every other reporter in the NFL cheered a little on the inside.