Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers recently chopped it up with NFL.com's Michael Silver about President Trump's inflammatory comments directed at NFL owners and players, as well as Trump's remarks about LeBron James.
In discussing Trump's continued attacks, Rodgers encouraged his fellow NFL players to ignore, or not respond to, those types of comments because it takes away the power of such statements. Additionally, Rodgers reiterated that the real issue at hand, and the reason why players are kneeling during the national anthem, are social injustices.
"I think that the more that we give credence to stuff like that, the more it's going to live on," Rodgers said Monday to NFL.com's Michael Silver. "I think if we can learn to ignore or not respond to stuff like that — if we can — it takes away the power of statements like that."
"I don't know how many times we can say, as a player and as a group, how much we love and support and appreciate the troops, and the opportunities this country allows us. But this is about equality and something bigger than ourselves, and bringing people together, and love and connectedness and equality and social justice, and putting a light on people who deserve to have the attention for their causes and their difficult situations that they're in. You know, people have their opinion -- you shouldn't do it during the anthem, you shouldn't do it during this -- that's fine. But let's not take away from what the real issue is."
On the subject of Trump's anti-LeBron tweet, Rodgers says LeBron handled it beautifully by not directly responding. The Packers QB told Michael Silver, "At a time where he’s putting on display his school, which is changing lives, there’s no need [to respond]. Because you’re just giving attention to that [tweet]; that’s what they want. So just don’t respond.”
Rodgers added that he didn’t reply to the Trump tweet about James because, frankly, LeBron doesn't need it. “He has stood on his own two feet for years, and he has done some incredible things, and he needs no support,” Rodgers told NFL.com. “He knows he has the support of his contemporaries, in his own sport and in other sports, and he’s gonna be fine.'”