Aaron Rodgers has yet to step into darkness.
He was very much in the spotlight with his typical backdrop of his Malibu home during his regular Tuesday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” a fact that led the Packers quarterback to spend several minutes blasting a report that claimed he was beginning a retreat into darkness. Monday.
Rodgers drew more attention than usual after announcing last week that he was going on a four-day dark retreat in total isolation, which he said could possibly be filmed. He said retirement will hopefully lead him to a more definite decision on his playing future while allowing him to try another new method of clearing his mind.
Rodgers, 39, didn’t say when he was entering the one-room home during last week’s appearance, but with teams awaiting his response on whether he’ll be playing a 19th NFL season, a report from Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network came out this weekend that he was kicking it off on Monday.
Rodgers blasted the report on Tuesday, saying he hadn’t changed his plans. On the contrary, Rodgers said, his retirement date, which he will begin later this week, is scheduled for four months.
“Anyone with knowledge contrary to that is fake news,” Rodgers said.
Aaron Rodgers lashes out at Ian Rapoport, says he’s not talking to NFL Network reporter
Rodgers says those around him don’t talk to the likes of Rapoport or ESPN’s Adam Schefter, national reporters who often report on Rodgers. Schefter was the first to report that Rodgers was unhappy with the Packers in the 2021 offseason and wanted to leave Green Bay.
“Nobody talks to Ian Rapoport or Adam Schefter or any of those people,” Rodgers said Tuesday. “So if you’re one of those people who talk to those people, that’s a great reminder for you, you’re not in the inner circle.
“Stop the fake news. I speak for myself and will continue to do so. I’m not upset. It’s mainstream media. The problem is there’s a slippery slope. When someone says something, Ian Rapoport or Adam Schefter or Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Anthony Fauci, Joe Rogan, myself question it, if it is legitimate it can withstand questioning.
“But nobody around me talks to these (journalists). I don’t talk to these people.”
Rodgers later said he had “no problem” with Rapoport or Schefter but when it came to his life “they don’t know (expletive).”
“Anyone who would want to talk to them is not in my circle,” Rodgers continued. “When someone like that goes on and says something that’s not true, it creates a story. It’s (expletive) and it goes on and on. How many (expletive) stories can come from a show. There’s no one who legitimately knows what’s going on in my life.
“Don’t make it up (expletive). I don’t have your number. You’re not going to get my number. You’re doing a great job, but not when it comes to my life.”
Rodgers says he’s not fazed by criticism, has done his research on Dark Retreat
In the week since Rodgers, who remains unconcerned about his football future after posting his worst statistical season with the Packers in his 15 years as a starter, announced he was moving into a home in the total darkness for four days, every corner of the internet had an opinion on what he was doing. Rodgers has also heard a lot after trying Panchakarma cleanses and the psychedelic herbal drink ayahuasca over the past few offseasons.
Rodgers isn’t fazed by this.
“I have a lot of love and empathy for everyone,” Rodgers said. “I’m fascinated by humanity and curious about a lot of individuals and what they like and how they see the world. There was a time when I judged planned medicine, things like a dark retreat or therapy. … Fully understand those thoughts, but ultimately they’re projections. It doesn’t sit well with me. I don’t mind.”
Rodgers said judging others is not “a way for us to come together as a society. We’re all trying to do our best.”
Although Rodgers has never done a dark retreat before, he referenced on Tuesday how meditation retreats and yoga retreats in the past have helped stimulate his mind to get “a better space for the head”.
Rodgers said he also did his research on the subject, as he does with everything, a phrase he repeated and encouraged others to do during his 2021 COVID-19 drama.
“Like most things, I like to do a lot of research before I dive in,” Rodgers said less subtly. “I’ve talked to a lot of people who have done it. I’ve watched a lot of first-hand accounts of it. I’m excited about it. It doesn’t make anyone better for the ability to do something like that. .. We’re all trying to do our best on the path we’re on.”
Rodgers said he knows there may be “difficult times” with him alone in his thoughts during the four days of isolation, but he is ready for the experience and to “surrender to any thoughts that are presented”.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Aaron Rodgers blasts NFL reporter Ian Rapoport over retirement to obscurity
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