Robert Saleh shuts down Aaron Rodgers' Pat McAfee Show appearance being distraction for Jets - "Nothing negative about it"
Aaron Rodgers has always been one of the more eccentric guests on The Pat McAfee Show, but his recent comments have turned him into a source of controversy.
Last week, the New York Jets quarterback suggested that ABC late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel would be on late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's list. After retaliation from Kimmel, Aaron Rodgers said on Tuesday (via CBS News):
"I'm not stupid enough to accuse you of that with absolutely zero evidence, concrete evidence. That's ridiculous."
As attention shifts toward the feud between the two, Jets head coach Robert Saleh visited Michael Kay's eponymous 98.7 ESPN show to share his thoughts on the situation. He said:
"I promise you I don't think anyone really cares about, inside these walls, his teammate, no one cares about the McAfee show. I think that's more just noise for the outside world. But just the things in here and the things that we need to do better as an organization as players as coaches, all of us in terms of uhh... stop sweating the small stuff and let's worry about winning football games."
"It's a fascinating conversation. But it's not there's nothing negative about it. It's just how you approach it and I don't think anybody in the locker room takes any of that through with with negativity."
Columnist believes Aaron Rodgers has negatively influenced The Pat McAfee Show
Remember when Pat McAfee claimed that Norby Williamson was "sabotaging" his eponymous show in the wake of Aaron Rodgers' shocking statements?
The New York Post's Andrew Marchand has already expounded on the recent ratings failings of The Pat McAfee Show, but on Tuesday, he went a step further to implicate the multiple-time MVP in this downfall. He began by explaining what Aaron Rodgers' hour-long rant about Jimmy Kimmel, COVID-19, and network executives entailed for ESPN (via New York Post):
"It’s probably a good thing that ESPN retired that 'Worldwide Leader in Sports' moniker. In actuality, McAfee is supposed to serve younger sports fans... He’s talented, but he’s a lot."
Furthermore, he used some strong words to describe their segments:
"The Rodgers segments have devolved into a middle-school lunchroom fight."
He concluded by reiterating the good things ESPN has done and must continue to do:
"The ratings success of college football’s semifinals and championships and two NFL upcoming playoff games should be the only statements coming out of PR. That should be ESPN's focus. They should be serving sports fans, not dysfunction."
A counter-response from Kimmel is expected in the coming days.