New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers expressed full support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential bid before repeating conspiracies about deaths in the politician’s family in a recent interview.
The 40-year-old Rodgers, who was once in the running for Kennedy’s vice presidential pick, appeared on the I Can Fly podcast on Tuesday.
During the more than two-hour interview, Rodgers discussed his relationship with Kennedy while lambasting the past two presidential administrations.
At one point, Rodgers claimed that Kennedy was “in danger” because of his views and a series of apparently suspicious deaths in the family.
“They killed his uncle, killed his father,” Rodgers said. ‘We know the CIA was involved. I mean, they can’t release it because it’s so devastating. We know the FBI was involved.”
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers pushed conspiracy theories about Kennedy family deaths during an April 9 appearance on the I Can Fly podcast
Rodgers, who was once considered to be Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, claimed the independent politician was “in danger” because of his views and family history
The NFL player insisted that the CIA and FBI were involved in the deaths of Kennedy’s father and uncle
He then claimed that former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover “hated the Kennedys” before launching into a tirade.
“So Bobby loses his uncle, JFK, and his father, RFK. His cousin dies in a plane crash while running against Hillary Clinton,” the quarterback claimed.
‘I’m not saying this is a conspiracy, but it is a strange coincidence. Bobby is in danger. He’s putting himself on the line. Why? Because he fucking believes in this country.”
Rodgers then compared the independent presidential candidate to fictional characters from franchises such as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.
“That, as I said before, is the archetype of everything we love about Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, everything we love about Frodo and Sam and Eragon, and Gandolf, and Merry and Pippin,” he said.
“Everything we love about Gamora and Groot and Rocket and Drax… these people believe in something.”
Tuesday’s interview was not the first time Rodgers promoted conspiracy theories.
The NFL player has questioned the safety of Covid-19 vaccines and called immunologist Anthony Fauci “one of the biggest spreaders of misinformation.”
Kennedy himself was a staunch opponent of Covid vaccines and was criticized for arguing that Covid-19 could have been “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.
The Jets quarterback has floated other conspiracy theories, including one about the Covid-19 pandemic
Rodgers sparked a firestorm of criticism after being diagnosed with Covid-19 in November 2021, despite insisting months earlier that he had been ‘immunized’ against the virus.
However, during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers claimed he was not “some kind of anti-vax flat earther” but a “critical thinker” who believed in “bodily autonomy.”
However, during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers claimed he was not “some kind of anti-vax flat earther” but a “critical thinker” who believed in “bodily autonomy.”
Rodgers then nodded to Joe Rogan, whose record of making false claims about the pandemic made him the target of similar criticism.
“I consulted a now good friend of mine, Joe Rogan, after he got Covid, and I did a lot of the things he recommended,” the footballer said, claiming he was allergic to ingredients in two of the FDA approved vaccines.
However, NFL experts found no evidence that the treatments Rodgers used were effective. He was ultimately ordered to pay $14,650 for violating NFL Covid-19 safety protocols.
The controversial quarterback has also been accused of promoting conspiracy theories about mass casualty events, including 9/11.
In November 2022, Packers backup quarterback DeShone Kizer claimed that Rodgers encouraged him to question whether the attacks on the Twin Towers were real.
“He closed the door and the first thing out of Aaron Rodgers’ mouth was, ‘Do you believe in 9/11?’” Kizer recalled during an appearance on The Breneman Show podcast.
He said Rodgers wanted him to “go back and investigate some of the conspiracies surrounding it.”
The quarterback, pictured during a February appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, claimed he spoke to Rogan about alternative Covid-19 treatments
Rodgers is also said to have wondered whether 9/11 actually happened
Most dangerous were his claims about the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, which echoed similar conspiracies by Alex Jones.
Most damagingly, Rodgers was accused of sharing deranged conspiracy theories about the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting.
Last month, CNN reported journalist Pamela Brown reported that Rodgers viewed the shooting as an “inside job” by the government that the media deliberately ignored.
He allegedly asked Brown if she thought it was strange that men dressed in black were in the woods near the school and falsely labeled the men as government agents.
The network quoted another source as claiming that Rodgers said years ago that “Sandy Hook never happened,” adding, “All those kids never existed.” They were all actors.’
After the explosive revelation, Rodgers denied ever believing the massacre did not happen.
“As I have said in the past, what happened in Sandy Hook was an absolute tragedy. I am not and have never been of the opinion that the events did not occur,” he said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
“Once again, I hope we learn from this and other tragedies to identify the signs that will allow us to prevent unnecessary loss of life. My thoughts and prayers remain with the affected families and the entire Sandy Hook community.”
The conspiracies bore a striking similarity to the claims of serial fabulist Alex Jones, who was ordered to pay more than $1 billion to the grieving families of Sandy Hook victims after insisting for years that their murdered children were “crisis actors” .