Hub Arkush, a Chicago-based sportswriter and one of 50 Associated Press voters for the NFL MVP award, penned an apology for “some of the childish things” he said about Aaron Rodgers on Tuesday.
The statement comes hours after he said on Chicago’s 670 The Score radio station that he “made a big mistake.” However, he said the error didn’t have to do with the comments about Rodgers themselves, but rather that he “failed to respect” the cardinal rule of voting—not disclosing your plans prior to it being announced.
“Most of the other 49 AP voters are acquaintances, many are friends, and the reason we are asked not to do what I did is it now puts undo pressure on some of them to comment, not comment, agree, disagree or take grief for doing the right thing and remaining silent,” Arkush wrote on Wednesday night. “Worse yet, I’ve apparently unleashed a small army of self-styled social media and talk radio experts who have no clue what they’re talking about to challenge the quality of the voting process and would attempt to invalidate any vote or thought process that doesn’t agree with their own.
“A sign of the times I guess.”
Arkush did not reveal who he was actually voting for but said on Tuesday that the way Rodgers carried himself off the field—citing his violation of COVID-19 protocols—is what ultimately caused him to be unworthy of winning the MVP award this year.
“I just think that the way he’s carried himself is inappropriate,” Arkush said. “I think he’s a bad guy, and I don’t think a bad guy can be the most valuable guy at the same time.”
Rodgers didn’t hold back on his thoughts Wednesday when addressing the comments, saying, “I think he’s a bum. I think he [Arkush] is an absolute bum. He doesn’t know me. I don’t know who he is. No one knew who he was, probably, until yesterday’s comments. And I listened to the comments. But to say he had his mind made up in the summertime, in the offseason that I had zero chance of winning MVP—in my opinion, that should exclude [him from] future votes.”
The Packers quarterback also stated that Arkush was more mad about him not being vaccinated than whether or not he was a “bad guy”.
“He doesn’t know anything about me … I’ve never had lunch with him,“ Rodgers said. “I’ve never had an interview with him. His problem is I’m not vaccinated. If he wants to go on a crusade and collude and come up with an extra letter to put on the award just for this season and make it the ‘Most Valuable Vaccinated Player,’ then he should do that.”
Rodgers previously suggested on The Pat McAfee Show Tuesday that voters won’t pick him because of his COVID-19 vaccination status and the public fallout over the last several weeks.
Despite the off-the-field controversy, Rodgers has been putting up MVP-caliber numbers this season, throwing for 3,977 yards and 35 touchdowns with only four interceptions.
Arkush closed his open apology with notes to different members affected by the comments, including Rodgers. He wrote, “To Aaron Rodgers, you are one of the greatest players of this generation and one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Whether or not you are this year’s MVP is up to the 50-member panel, neither me, nor my critics.”
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