By Ken Reed
At this point in my life, I tend to root more for quality people than blindly root for teams wearing certain colors or based in certain geographic locations.
To me, the “home” teams are the teams with the most classy players, coaches, executives and owners.
I follow the Indianapolis Colts because Andrew Luck is a first-rate human being. Same goes for the New York Mets’ Michael Cuddyer. And the Boston Celtics’ David Lee is another class act.
That’s just a quick sample. There are many other good people in sports that I enjoy pulling for.
And I have one more to add to the list: Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers. I’ve long admired his skills on the football field but have never really known much about what kind of person he is, or what kind of character he possesses.
I do now. Rodgers recently stepped up in a post-game press conference and showed courage and strength uncommon in the “me-first” world of professional sports.
In Green Bay, during a pre-game moment of silence for the victims of the Paris terrorist attacks, a fan yelled out “Muslims suck!” Rodgers made a mental note to address it after the game in his interactions with the press.
“It’s that kind of prejudicial ideology that puts us in the position that we’re in today as a world,” said Rodgers as part of his commentary on the incident.
I guess Rodgers can go a little deeper than just his incessant “Discount Double Check” lines in those ubiquitous State Farm insurance commercials.
Nice work Mr. Rodgers.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
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