It isn’t often — if ever — that the cast of ESPN Radio’s Unsportsmanlike finds itself speechless. Only that’s exactly what happened on Friday morning, as Dan Graziano engaged in an epic rant regarding Aaron Rodgers.
Graziano’s skewering of the 41-year-old quarterback came as the show discussed The Athletic’s recent report regarding the New York Jets’ dysfunction. Yet despite absurd revelations such as owner Woody Johnson nixing a trade for Jerry Jeudy due to his lackluster Madden video game rating, Graziano wants to make sure that the report doesn’t distract the Jets from what he views as the franchise’s biggest issue.
“If the effect of this story is that the organization decides that, ‘well it could be worse. Aaron Rodgers isn’t so bad because look at all this other goofiness that’s going on above him’ then the Jets are in bigger trouble than I thought,” Graziano said. “Because Aaron Rodgers is a con artist. He is a narcissist. He is self-absorbed to the absolute maximum. And if he has you fooled — again — that’s on you.
“If the Jets go back to Aaron Rodgers next year, they deserve what they get and it will not be good. Like, they know this. They’ve lived it for the last two years. This is not the answer. If some team wants to do that, too bad for them. But if the team that it just happened to wants it to happen to them again, then that’s — there’s no fixing that. That’s just dumb.”
It took seconds — an eternity in radio time — for anyone else on the show to respond, as the crew featuring Evan Cohen, Chris Canty, Michelle Smallmon and Bart Scott was left literally speechless.
By this point, Graziano’s feelings regarding Rodgers have been well established, and this isn’t even the first time that he’s referred to the 4-time MVP as a “narcissist” and “con artist.” Rodgers, for his part, has yet to respond publicly. But if he ever does, he’ll presumably want to know whether the ESPN reporter is vaccinated.
[Unsportsmanlike]
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.