Aaron Rodgers: I'm Not Gay

Prior to the NFL season, rumors of a homosexual player coming out of the closet abounded over the internet. What team did he play for? Who was it? Would several players make a safety-in-numbers announcement?

For anyone waiting with baited breath for that closet to swing open, Aaron Rodgers insists he won’t be the player walking through that door.

The Green Bay quarterback bluntly told a Milwaukee radio station that he’s not into dudes. “I’m not gay,” the former NFL MVP explained. “I really, really like women. That’s all I can say about that.”

The thirty-year-old bachelor is a practicing Christian, so the dearth of tabloid fodder about a wild social life has fueled rumors among base people that Rodgers must be gay. Why else wouldn’t he be hooking up with an actress every night? “There’s always going to be silly stuff out there in the media,” Rodgers told ESPN Wisconsin.

The silly stuff has included longform journalism that as much encouraged players to announce their sexuality as reported that some consider doing just that. It has also included comedian Artie Lange’s Super Bowl media day interview with San Francisco ’49ers defensive back Chris Culliver. “Can’t be with that sweet stuff,” Culliver declared. “Nah, can’t be in the locker room man.” The 24-year-old player explained that a hypothetical homosexual player should come out long after he has retired. “No, we don’t got no gay people on the team,” he told the comedian. “They’ve gotta get up outta here if they do.” The comments sparked intense controversy, among both grammarians and San Franciscans.

Rodgers’s comments come on the heels of a Houston Chronicle report that two members of the 1993 Oilers team were gay. “Listen, those guys that we’re talking about were unbelievable teammates,” linebacker Lamar Lathon told the Chronicle. “And if you wanted to go to war with someone, you would get those guys first. Because I have never seen tougher guys than those guys. And everybody in the locker room, the consensus knew or had an idea that things were not exactly right. But guess what? When they strapped the pads on and got on the field, man, we were going to war with these guys because they were unbelievable.”

Green Bay’s quarterback clearly dislikes the media fixation over player sexuality. “There should be ‘professional is professional and personal is personal,'” Rodgers explained. “That’s the way I’m going to keep it.”