During a post-practice interview Saturday in Green Bay, Rodgers was asked by a Milwaukee television reporter what he thought about the Packers' numerous players on injured reserve being unable to participate in Super Bowl XLV.
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"Well, I'll say this," Rodgers said. "I was on IR back in 2006, and I chose to stick around and finish out the season with my guys and be here every game. Some of those guys didn't. And so, we love them, we care about them, we don't wish injury on anybody, but this is a group of guys that's really come together and has been great to work with. It's been great to work with the guys we brought in mid-season, some of them, and the young guys. Some of the guys who were injured, you know, they are still part of this team, but some of them didn't choose to stick around."
The remarks immediately set off a rash of criticism; some directed at Rodgers, some directed at the players and some directed at various members of media for blowing the story out of proportion.
Linebacker Nick Barnett, out since suffering a wrist injury in Week 4 against the Lions, quickly responded on Twitter."Well looks like people have something to say about where some people choose to do rehab," Barnett said in his Tweet. He continued by saying "it's easy to speak about others when you are not in their position." Barnett quickly deleted those messages and posted a string of follow-ups, going so far as to suggest that he was deleting his account.
Tight end Jermichael Finley got into the fracas, too, quickly jumping to Barnett's defense. Unlike his teammate, Finley left his comments up and, later in the day, defended his decision to rehab in Arizona and pledge his allegiance to the Packers.
onmilwaukee.com wrote: