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Everybody in the sports world has their opinion on Andrew Luck shocking the world by hanging up the cleats before his 30th birthday.
There’s a camp led by Fox Sports Doug Gottlieb that believes that Luck’s premature retirement reveals his soft millennial character. The other end of the pendulum, mostly sports media publications playing the enlightened sports fan, think Luck should be given the Nobel Prize for bravery. Both paint an incomplete picture, and I’m struggling to see why people being pissed that he’s retiring and respecting his decision to retire have to be mutually exclusive.
If you were to assign Aaron Rodgers to a camp, he’d be a guy to hang Luck’s jersey from the rafters rather than burn it in a fit of rage.
The 35-year-old Packers quarterback spoke to Adam Schein of Mad Dog Sports Radio about the one of the biggest sports stories of the year, and heaped praise on his fellow quarterback for making a tough decision, while condemning those who booed him for it.
Exclusive: Aaron Rodgers tells @AdamSchein he felt "a little disgust" with the way the Andrew Luck situation was handled, from the fans booing on Saturday night to the way the news leaked out about Luck's retirement pic.twitter.com/czdszTNNGc
— Mad Dog Sports Radio (@MadDogRadio) August 26, 2019
“Well, the surprise was obviously the first emotion. He’s a young player, he’s had a really, really good career,” Rodgers told Schein on Monday. “But I think the second is a little disgust, maybe, at the way that it was handled. Him getting booed, the word leaking out the way that it did, I thought that was a little disgusting because here’s a guy who’s making a quality of life decision. And he’s given a lot to the game, although he’s not a 15-year vet, but he’s put himself through a ton just to get back on the field.”
Rodgers evidently thinks very highly of Luck.
https://twitter.com/mattschneidman/status/1166095027833061377?s=20
“I think what he did was actually very unselfish,” Rodgers said. “Does he not start the season? He could be on IR, and then he’s cashing a paycheck from the Colts without playing. But instead he’s making the decision now so they can move forward with Jacoby [Brissett], and he’s making a decision that’s for his own quality of life and happiness, and I salute him for that. And I enjoyed competing against him. He’s a hell of a player, and I’m happy for whatever is next with Andrew.”
I guess if there’s any lesson to be learned here it’s don’t surround your elite quarterback with a dogshit offensive line for three years.
[h/t TPS]