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A host on the far-right media network Newsmax believes that NFL player Aaron Rodgers’ recent injury was due to the quarterback choosing psychedelic drugs over God.
Greg Kelly, a prominent conspiracy theorist and vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, made the remark while discussing the recent tear of Rodger’s achilles tendon during his debut last week with the New York Jets.
“He lost the eye of the tiger,” Kelly said. “A competitive quarterback can’t be all happy and goofy all the time and something happened to this guy and I think I know what it was: Drugs!”
Specifically, Kelly pointed to Rodgers’ admitted use of the psychoactive brew ayahuasca, which causes intense visions and hallucinations
“He got involved in psychedelics, this ayahuasca tea, something like that, that gives you this, you know, ‘Oh, I love you, bro’ kinda of mentality,” Kelly added. “It’s not good.”
After airing a short clip of Rodgers describing his positive experience with the drug, Kelly responded by acting confused before insinuating that the accident wouldn’t have taken place had the football star chosen God over drugs.
“How about going to church? Whatever the hell he’s talking about, ayahuasca tea is a crummy substitute for God,” Kelly concluded.
It goes without saying that Kelly’s insinuations are totally baseless. I think we can be fairly certain that the 39-year-old quarterback tore his Achilles tendon due to playing on wet astroturf and wasn’t struck down by a vengeful God upset about his consumption of plants.
While it’s unclear how conservatives view Kelly’s comments, a large portion of the response to Rodgers’ injury included jokes about his conspiratorial views towards the COVID-19 vaccine.
“What type of psychedelic toad venom will Aaron Rodgers use to heal his ankle injury?” one X user said.
Rodgers’ future remains uncertain, although the chance of him continuing to use psychedelics is likely higher at this point than his chances of continuing his football career.
Why it matters
The current state of politics has become so bizarre that even something as simple as a sports injury has turned into a political football, no pun intended.
Whether one agrees with Rodgers’ political views and use of psychedelic drugs, no evidence exists to link his issue to hallucinogens or God.