Aaron Rodgers has some hot takes on the world’s response to the coronavirus pandemic — and he isn’t afraid to share them.
“I think we all were buying into the idea of quarantine to flatten the curve,” the Green Bay Packers star, 36, said during a recent interview with local reporters in Wisconsin, per CBS Sports. “And I think there are a lot of questions now that it’s more of a house arrest to find a cure, with people wondering exactly what that means as far as the future of the country and the freedoms we’re allowed to have at this point.”
The COVID-19 crisis continues across the country, with more new cases and deaths reported each day, but some states have already begun to ease their stay-at-home regulations after shutting down local businesses in response to the novel virus. While baseball and basketball seasons were put on hold due to health concerns earlier this year, the NFL has yet to confirm whether the 2020 season will start on schedule this fall.
“I’m very hopeful that we can have a [football] season,” he said, noting that sports have always had the power to bring people together. “I think the important thing to think about, though, which is more important than that, is the state of the country and the fact that we have 36-plus million people on unemployment right now. We have rising poverty levels to go along with the unemployment, you have suicide hotline [calls] up 8,000 percent.”
Despite his apparent unhappiness with being under lockdown, the athlete cited “fear around this pandemic” as one of the major problems faced by people around the country — and even around the world.
“I hope that we can use some common sense moving forward and make decisions that are going to be in the best interest of all people moving forward,” he concluded. “I hope that sports is a part of that at some point.”
Before social distancing guidelines and stay-at-home orders were enforced across the United States, Rodgers enjoyed an adventurous trip to Peru with girlfriend Danica Patrick. The pair began dating in January 2018 and have been going strong ever since, even purchasing a $28 million Malibu estate together in December 2019.
The former NASCAR driver, 38, previously gushed about her bond with the NFL star during an exclusive interview with Us Weekly in September 2018, adding that she knows she can lean on her man in hard times. “You can rely on yourself or you can also rely on those closest to you that are honest,” she said. “Not people that want to tell you what you want to hear, but people that are gonna tell you what you need to hear and be honest with you.”
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