this post was submitted on 15 Mar 2024
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Attorney Mark Bankston, who has represented Sandy Hook families, didn't mince words when discussing Rodgers' alleged false and conspiratorial beliefs.

Following a report claiming that New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers spread lies about the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, one lawyer representing families affected by the tragedy asked Rodgers to exercise more discretion when he spoke ― although the language he used was a little more colorful.

In a CNN story Wednesday, reporter Pamela Brown described an interaction she had with Rodgers in 2013, in which he falsely claimed that the Sandy Hook attack ― which left 20 children and six adults dead ― was orchestrated by the government.

Another source, not identified by name in the CNN piece, claimed that Rodgers had also said “Sandy Hook never happened,” and that “all those children never existed. They were all actors.”

Dangerous conspiracies like these were at the center of several lawsuits that Sandy Hook families filed against Infowars host Alex Jones, who spent years falsely claiming that various parents who lost their children to gun violence were “actors.”

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[–] TransplantedSconie@lemm.ee 153 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Sue him for defamation and take every fucking thing he owns. He can trip balls while being homeless.

[–] Neato@ttrpg.network 56 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Yeah. Rodgers is a fucking idiot. Didn't he see Alex Jones get absolutely obliterated in court for similar claims? Now there's a precedent so the families should be able to easily repeat that.

[–] Nastybutler@lemmy.world 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Rogers said these things in 2013. Well before Jones lost his suit

[–] Neato@ttrpg.network 8 points 6 months ago

OK, but if he's still saying them then he can be sued now. Committing crimes in the past doesn't absolve the same crime committed again. Now there's a precedent for being a harassment-laden shitstain.

[–] Dkarma@lemmy.world 24 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I think i saw that movie in the 70s

[–] ashok36@lemmy.world 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Sue him for defamation in a private conversation he had ten years ago?

I dislike Rogers as much as anyone but that would be laughed out of court.

[–] TheRealKuni@lemmy.world 16 points 6 months ago

I think it’s wild you’ve been downvoted for this. Clearly these people haven’t read the article.

On Thursday, Rodgers did not deny the comments he made to Brown or the other source, but said on X, “As I’m on the record saying in the past, what happened in Sandy Hook was an absolute tragedy. I am not and have never been of the opinion that the events did not take place. Again, I hope that we learn from this and other tragedies to identify the signs that will allow us to prevent unnecessary loss of life. My thoughts and prayers continue to remain with the families affected along with the entire Sandy Hook community.”

You can’t sue someone for defamation if they’ve never publicly defamed you. Otherwise I could just find someone to start claiming you said shit back in 2013 and sue you.

I’m not saying he didn’t say it. Or that he isn’t a piece of shit. I’m saying his public position on the issue has never been that it was fake, unlike Alex Jones.

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 96 points 6 months ago (2 children)

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 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.

Goddamn that’s fucking brutal

[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 79 points 6 months ago (4 children)

I agree with the lawyer, but also could we stop reporting what Aaron Rodgers says? I mean, who gives a shit? He throws a football and likely has impaired cognitive function from a career of head injuries. He's not an expert in anything besides reading the defensive coverage. As a politician, he was a pretty good football player. As an intellectual, he's not at all. Fuck Aaron Rodgers. Ignore his incoherent ramblings.

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 53 points 6 months ago (1 children)

He throws a football and likely has impaired cognitive function from a career of head injuries. He's not an expert in anything

When you say it like that, it only convinces me that he's gonna run for public office as a Republican sooner or later.

[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 36 points 6 months ago (1 children)

He's been mentioned as a running mate for Kennedy, and that should tell you everything you need to know about his political relevance.

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 17 points 6 months ago

That's just a third party Republican campaign so yeah. Clown car's getting awful full.

[–] TheRealKuni@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago (1 children)

also could we stop reporting what Aaron Rodgers says?

Especially when it’s someone saying he said it privately in 2013. Why is this news?

[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago

It's news because he's been floated as a potential running mate for Kennedy, and some people might not know what a horrible piece of shit Aaron Rodgers actually is. A lot of people just know of him from football.

[–] helenslunch@feddit.nl 4 points 6 months ago

I wish we could

[–] ouRKaoS@lemmy.today -2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

impaired cognitive function from a career of head injuries

Nah, he's a quarterback, one of the softest positions in football. There's a group of 300lb MF's protecting him from a career of injuries.

He's just an idiot.

[–] Nastybutler@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Have you seen the relic of a helmet he wears? He's definitely a CTE candidate

https://images.app.goo.gl/VmWZ4ToVSsB3wPfy5

[–] ObviouslyNotBanana@lemmy.world 44 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Mark is a fucking champ. He's done so much good and I admire his efforts. I also love his willingness to talk about the Alex Jones case, and would recommend everyone to listen to his interviews on Knowledge Fight. Fantastic.

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 9 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Knowledge Fight is the only good source for actually credible information on Alex Jones and how awful he is and also just a hell of an entertaining podcast!

It's the Mark Bankston of podcasts!

[–] RandomGeneratedName@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

As someone whose never heard of this pod cast but is interested in checking it out, is there a good starting point?

[–] ObviouslyNotBanana@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

That's a good question, since the podcast library is fucking huge!

What I personally did was just start listening to what was current that day and then went back to things that had interesting titles. When there were gaps of uploads and I'd listened to all of those I went back and looked at other old episodes. People do seem to think that the episode covering January 7, 2011 is a nice starting point.

It's honestly not one of those things you have to know much to get into. It'll come slowly with time either way you listen. Sometimes there are of course episodes that bleed into each other since the podcast documents Info Wars on a semi-daily basis.

Thanks, appreciate the answer!

[–] ObviouslyNotBanana@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Dan and Jordan do a wonderful job of documenting the man.

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Well Dan does a wonderful job researching and documenting the man, Jordan does a wonderful job reacting and they both do a wonderful job discussing and analyzing while being hilarious to boot 😁❤️

[–] ObviouslyNotBanana@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I was gonna say that it was mostly Dan, but honestly the podcast wouldn't be as engaging without the dynamic they have.

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I agree completely. Dan might do the vast majority of the work, but that doesn't mean that Jordan's contribution isn't indispensable or that their chemistry as comedians and friends isn't excellent!

Jordan's no dummy btw, not that I thought that you thought so. He often has extremely good insights that Dan hadn't thought of.

Plus there's the fact that Dan would doubtlessly have lost his mind years ago if he'd have had to do it alone lol

[–] ObviouslyNotBanana@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

Absolutely. Dan is just torturing himself and Jordan is smart enough not to do it lol

[–] billiam0202@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Time to send him more gummy worms!

Also, for those who don't know, Mark Bankston (or arguably Andino Reynal, lol) was the reason we got this pic:

[–] ObviouslyNotBanana@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

When you fart so hard, you're no longer sure it was a fart

Fucking Reynal, man. What a class E lawyer. One step above Norm.

[–] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

He looks like Amanda Waller just activated the bomb in his neck

[–] seth@lemmy.world 33 points 6 months ago (1 children)

And RFK Jr. is considering him as a running mate. Hopefully anyone considering RFK Jr. as their choice will reconsider, but I feel like anyone who does is already lost to that conspiracy nonsense.

[–] almar_quigley@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

The only people considering him would otherwise vote for trump most likely

[–] Red_October@lemmy.world 27 points 6 months ago

Well head trauma, concussion, and brain injury are a big deal in the NFL today, so it tracks that Rodgers would believe stupid shit like that.

[–] Devdogg@lemmy.ml 24 points 6 months ago

Me to Rogers: Please shut the fuck up.

[–] blackluster117@possumpat.io 20 points 6 months ago

Maybe just stick to talking about how you gave 110% out there, meathead.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 7 points 6 months ago

Future failed presidential candidate RFK Jr.'s probably failed running mate Aaron Rodgers? That Aaron Rodgers?

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4531563-rfk-jr-aaron-rodgers-vice-president-battle-tested/

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

Hey! Show some respect to our next Vice President!

[–] rusticus@lemm.ee 1 points 6 months ago

Seriously people, we need to encourage Rodgers (and Kennedy) to run. The only voters that would be attracted to this ticket from the Conspirator Party would have been not voting or voting for Trump. And a vote not for Trump is a vote for sanity.

[–] xc2215x@lemmy.world -1 points 6 months ago

Aaron Rodgers was good at football but I get why he is being told this.