Aside from Ryan Braun himself, there were very few people who looked more idiotic than Aaron Rodgers when Braun’s suspension was announced. Rodgers, who became very good friends with Braun due to their similar ages and career paths, was extremely vocal in defending Braun back in 2011 when Braun failed a drug test.
At Green Bay Packers training camp on Friday, Rodgers broke the silence on the situation and explained to reporters how a friend let him down.
“I was shocked, I really was, just like many of you were,” Rodgers said, via Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I was backing up a friend. He looked me in the eye on multiple occasions and repeatedly denied these allegations and said they were not true.
“So, it is disappointing, not only for myself as a friend, but for obviously Wisconsin sports fans, Brewer fans, really baseball fans. It doesn’t feel great being lied to like that and I’m disappointed in the way it all went down.”
While Rodgers probably could have been quieter in defending his friend and not bet a Twitter follower a year’s salary that he was clean, you almost have to feel sorry for him. We all want to support our friends and believe what they are telling us is true. On Friday, Rodgers wouldn’t even say if he was committed to still running a restaurant with Braun.
“That’s yet to be determined,” he said. “I don’t regret backing a friend up. Obviously in hindsight a more measured approach would obviously be a better course of action. I definitely believe in forgiveness and moving forward. He has a tough task in front of him moving forward with his career, on and off the field.”
But is he still considered a friend?
“I was disappointed in the way it went down … I trusted him,” Rodgers said. “That’s the thing that probably hurts the most.”
Again, I doubt Rodgers would have been so vocal if he did not believe Braun. Like many others, he was duped. Next time he’ll know to keep his opinion to himself rather than flaunting it in public.
