Aaron Rodgers sends Pat McAfee Show scrambling into fact check during student loan debate
Aaron Rodgers's regular appearances on the Pat McAfee show have become something of a concern for ESPN, especially after last week's kerfuffle involving Jimmy Kimmel. He linked Jeffrey Epstein's list with the comedian, who in turn threatened a lawsuit against him.
The Jets quarterback came on to the program today and clarified that he was not accusing the late night host of pedophilia. But that episode has clearly brought changes into the program.
Just today, Aaron Rodgers was discussing community colleges with Pat McAfee and strongly advocated for them. The quarterback said,
"Community colleges are awesome for kids to start their careers as it's low cost, education in most places is fantastic and a lot of places are good at getting you transferred somewhere. So I don't even wanna get into what's going into college campuses, that's a low hanging fruit."
The program host then raised how expensive it is go to college in America. He responded,
"Not only is it low cost and if you get a degree you showcase you put in work for a certain amount of time which is what I think college degrees are for. We're not even gonna get into the amount of money that they'll never be able to earn back so you're constantly in debt forever. We're not gonna do that."
This prompted Aaron Rodgers to say that student debt is the only debt that does not get erased due to bankruptcy. He remarked,
"That's the only debt that doesn't get erased through filing bankruptcy and stays with you, not just with you but if you die, it gets passed down. They're getting that money."
Pat McAfee tells Aaron Rodgers that he needs to be fact check
In previous editions of the show, such a generic comment would have been something that was just slid into the conversation. But there was indication that things have changed as Pat McAfee was not taking any chances and told the Jets star that, stating,
"Now, you read that in a book? I did not read that stat. I am supposed to check it."
The 'supposed' part was instructive. Aaron Rodgers also seemed to be taken aback as he seemed to consent but also added that he could be wrong, saying,
"Fact check it. I could be false but I think that's how student loans work."
While there has been a lot of energy by Pat McAfee and his guest against actors who they feel are working against them, it seems that they are at least trying to moderate what they say on air.