Aaron Rodgers attends the Kentucky Derby but doesn't want to talk about issues with Packers

Senior writer

Sat, May 1, 2021, 9:36 PM·2 min read

We'll have to wait for Aaron Rodgers' full comments on what is happening with the Green Bay Packers.

It was known this week, when news came out that he doesn't want to play for the Packers again, that he would be attending the Kentucky Derby. That was a chance for him to clear the air and confirm or deny some of the things that have been said about his falling out with Green Bay.

He wasn't ready to do that, via Matt Hietpas of WBAY in Green Bay. Hietpas said Rodgers wouldn't talk to NBC, other than some brief comments to Mike Tirico.

Aaron Rodgers at the Kentucky Derby. He declined to talk to NBC. Mike Tirico says Rodgers told him he was "disappointed that news has come out of this rift with the Packers." Tirico says Rodgers expressed how much he loves Green Bay.#AaronRodgers #Packers pic.twitter.com/BOM3p8LzFQ
— Matt Hietpas (@MattyHip) May 1, 2021

The idea that Rodgers was upset that the news broke about his rift with the team — which would insinuate that the Packers themselves leaked on draft day that perhaps the greatest player in team history was fed up with them and wanted out — is a bit dubious. And Rodgers loving Green Bay is not illuminating; the fans have been good to him.

We don't know any more now than we knew before Rodgers hit Churchill Downs, and perhaps that's by design. Rodgers seems fairly calculating on when he will talk and to which media outlets, so maybe he has plans other than talking to NBC on Derby day. It's possible he won't talk at all before the situation is settled, even though that might take a while.

We'll wait. It's not like the story is going away.