Aaron Rodgers didn’t waste much time doing what he does best off the football field: ruffling feathers.
During an appearance on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show,” on Monday, the Steelers quarterback took a swipe at the very network that carries it, poking fun at the scandal broken and extensively covered by Page Six involving NFL insider Dianna Russini and Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.
Russini covered the NFL for ESPN before moving to The Athletic, and Rodgers used that as a way to take a shot at the network over the way it covered the story.
“Then there was another scandal this offseason too, involving a voter for MVP, for coach of the year. How much time did your network spend on that?” Rodgers asked while seated next to McAfee.
Russini and Vrabel, both married to other people, were photographed dancing, hugging and holding hands at an adults-only resort in Sedona in April in images published by Page Six. The incident led to Russini being placed on leave and then exiting the New York Times-owned outlet. Vrabel has not been publicly disciplined by the Patriots.
McAfee did not respond and Rodgers went back to taking shots at Dr. Anthony Fauci, whom he described as an “absolute coward” during a separate tirade against the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
However, the Steelers quarterback returned to the topic a short time later despite the show’s panel requesting he stay on the Fauci rant.
“But what is the network doing? Like you literally have an individual that maybe used to work at ESPN that covers our league at the highest level, and there’s a major scandal, and it’s just like nobody can f–king talk about it? What are we even doing here?” Rodgers asked.
The segment followed a similar feel to his old weekly slot on “The Pat McAfee Show” — for which he was paid a reported $1 million — where he took shots at anyone and everyone, including critics of his vaccination beliefs and a headline-grabbing back-and-forth with late-night talk host Jimmy Kimmel.
During one show in March 2023, Rodgers criticized Russini for her reporting of his impending trade from the Packers to the Jets.
