The Background
CNN knows of two people with whom Rodgers has enthusiastically shared these stories, including with Pamela Brown, one of the journalists writing this piece. Brown was covering the Kentucky Derby for CNN in 2013 when she was introduced to Rodgers, then with the Green Bay Packers, at a post-Derby party. Hearing that she was a journalist with CNN, Rodgers immediately began attacking the news media for covering up important stories. Rodgers brought up the tragic killing of 20 children and 6 adults by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School, claiming it was actually a government inside job and the media was intentionally ignoring it.
When Brown questioned him on the evidence to show this very real shooting was staged, Rodgers began sharing various theories that have been disproven numerous times. Such conspiracy theories were also later at the center of lawsuits brought by victims’ families when they sued conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on the matter.
Jones baselessly repeating lies that the 2012 mass shooting was staged, and that the families and first responders were “crisis actors,” spawned multiple lawsuits and a trial was held in 2022 over lawsuits that were filed in Connecticut.
Brown recalls Rodgers asking her if she thought it was off that there were men in black in the woods by the school, falsely claiming those men were actually government operatives. Brown found the encounter disturbing.
Rodgers now denies making the statements.
Attorney Mark Bankston
A lawyer, Mark Bankston, who represented a couple who lost their 6-year-old son in the Sandy Hook Elementary mass shooting — and who successfully sued Alex Jones over the conspiracy theories he spread about the shooting — took aim at NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers late Wednesday.
A quick open letter to NY Jets quarterback and massive weirdo Aaron Rodgers, from me, an attorney who for many years represented several Sandy Hook parents… 🧵
Hey Aaron, not sure if you’ll see this, but I figure the best chance is to put it here on Twitter, where it will hopefully be sandwiched between a tweet claiming the measles vaccine makes children gay and an ad for a cryptocurrency scam.
To start, I can’t say it really surprised to me to see you had been spreading nonsense about Sandy Hook because although I have not followed your sports career closely, I am quite aware that you are a slow-witted, gullible person.
Sadly, I’d have to live under a rock not to notice the frequency in which the media reports on whatever screwball propaganda you most recently swallowed like a hungry trout confronted with a shiny lure.
Being a poor schmuck who latches onto claptrap maybe isn’t the biggest sin in this day and age, but I can’t fathom how on earth you manufactured the confidence to think you have something useful to offer to any of these discussions.
As the Greeks instructed: “Gnōthi sauton.” Know thyself. You are a dumb jock. God apparently gave you many talents, but critical thinking is not one of them.
With your immense fortune, there is no reason you can’t hire someone to assess and evaluate basic day-to-day information so you don’t have to. Because you’re not very good at it.
I already knew this about you, but what I learned today — that you were one of those freaks telling reporters (and god knows who else) that the Sandy Hook parents were liars and actors — crosses a line you can’t come back from.
It means you can’t be trusted with important decisions. It means nobody benefits from listening to you. It means you’re broken in a fundamental way. It means you’re weak, and you’re desperate to believe what a grifter will happily sell you.
It means you’re not a leader and will never be one. You’re not cut out to be an influencer, a role model, or even an amusing iconoclast. Because you’re not eccentric; you’re defective. And that’s not a funny joke.
There’s more I could say about the limitations of your character and judgment, but instead I’ll conclude with a very simple request that I hope will reach your ears:
Could you please shut the fuck up?
