Hub Arkush, the executive editor for Pro Football Weekly and one of 50 Associated Press NFL MVP voters, truly stuck to his word after his comments about Aaron Rodgers went viral earlier this year.
In an appearance on the “Parkins and Spiegel Show” 670 The Score in Chicago on Tuesday, Arkush shared that he was the lone voter to choose Cooper Kupp as the league‘s 2021 MVP. He was one of the 11 AP voters that didn’t vote for Rodgers, with the other 10 casting their ballots for Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.
“At the end of the day, the idea that there was ever any personal bias is ridiculous. It‘s subjective,“ Arkush said of his decision to choose Kupp over Rodgers. “There‘s nothing that requires that the MVP be considered for on-the-field [actions] only. It‘s not in the rules, it‘s not in the instructions… I just looked at a long list of worth candidates this year. I would have no argument with Rodgers winning it, Brady winning it, Cooper Kupp winning it, Jonathan Taylor winning it and I could give you a few more…
“I purposefully looked beyond just the on-the-field stuff to see if there were any liabilities. Rodgers brought a ton of liabilities to the Packers this year, that was always my issue. He clearly is the MVP, I don‘t dispute that in any way… It‘s tremendously subjective and, you know, I think I got it right.”
Back in January, Arkush set social media on fire when he revealed that he’d already made up his mind not to vote for Rodgers for MVP. He called the Packers quarterback “the biggest jerk in the league” and a “bad guy.”
“I don‘t think you can be the biggest jerk in the league and punish your team and your organization and your fanbase in the way he did and be the most valuable player,” Arkush said on the Jan. 4 “Parkins and Spiegel Show” on 670 The Score in Chicago. “Has he been the most valuable on the field? Yeah, you could make that argument, but I don’t think he’s been clearly that much more valuable than Jonathan Taylor, or Cooper Kupp, or maybe even Tom Brady.”
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“I just think that the way he’s carried himself is inappropriate. I think he’s a bad guy, and I don’t think a bad guy can be the most valuable guy at the same time.”
Rodgers responded to Arkush after that, saying, “I think he’s a bum. I think he’s an absolute bum.”
Rodgers believes Arkush should be excluded from voting for the MVP because of his bias against Rodgers as a person.
“His problem is I’m not vaccinated,” said Rodgers, who added that the MVP then should be “the most vaccinated player.”
“But he’s a bum,” Rodgers said, according to Pro Football Talk. “And I’m not going to waste any time worrying about that stuff. He has no idea who I am. He’s never talked to me in his life. But it’s unfortunate that those sentiments — it’s surprising that he would even say that, to be honest. But I knew this was possible. I talked about it on McAfee weeks ago. But…crazy.”
