A memorable introduction. Aaron Rodgers‘ former backup quarterback DeShone Kizer recalled their first meeting — which included a surprising conversation.
“He shut the door, and the first thing that comes out of Aaron Rodgers‘ mouth was ‘Do you believe in 9/11?’” Kizer, 26, claimed during an episode of “The Breneman Show” podcast, which was released on Tuesday, November 29. “’What, do I believe in 9/11? Yeah, why wouldn’t I?’”
According to Kizer, Rodgers, 38, suggested that he do more research into the subject. “He was like, ‘You should read up on that.’ Now we start learning about the playbook and stuff. And I was like, ‘Wow I don’t know where this is going,’ the athlete shared about the 2018 discussion. “What it ended up being was a real thought experiment where he wanted me to go back and look into some of the conspiracies around it.”
Kizer continued: “It provoked a lot of great conversations. We really bonded over that and started sharing some books and we started talking about some other things. Some history, some business and some finance.”
The Ohio native credited Rodgers for inspiring him to be well read off the field in addition to his career.
“He is a genius when it comes to football,” Kizer noted. “But he is also getting off the field and we are spending half of our QB conversation talking about the Federal Reserve, business, investing, history, Jeopardy, art and movies. He is just so knowledgeable of all these other things.”
The California native previously made headlines for his controversial views when he referred to himself as “immunized” after testing positive for COVID-19. In November 2021, Rodgers received public backlash and a one-game suspension after previously implying he was vaccinated.
At the time, the football player claimed that he “didn’t lie” about his medical history. “The league was fully aware of it upon my return to the Packers,” he said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “It wasn’t some sort of ruse or lie, it was the truth.”
Earlier this year, the quarterback reflected on his headline-making decision.
“They were doing this, I called it a witch hunt, where they were asking every single player, ‘Are you vaccinated?’ You know, they were asking a bunch of big quarterbacks and some guys were saying, ‘It’s personal’ or whatever,” the athlete claimed on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast in August. “They didn’t want to talk about their status and it almost guaranteed you weren’t vaccinated, right? So then they were getting ripped.”
Rodgers said he wasn’t shocked by the negative response. “I knew at some point if I contracted COVID or if word got out, because it’s the NFL and there’s leaks everywhere, it was possible I’d have to answer the questions,” he added. “And that’s when the s–tstorm hit because now I’m a liar, I’m endangering the community, my teammates, all these people. And the attempted takedown of me and my word and my integrity began.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Rodgers’ rep for comment.
