GREEN BAY โ Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was "shocked" by Ryan Braun's acceptance of a 65-game suspension from Major League Baseball, saying that the Milwaukee Brewers outfield looked him in the eye and lied to him "on multiple occasions" about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.
"I was shocked, I really was, just like many of you were," Rodgers told a throng of reporters at his locker after Friday's first practice of training camp. "I was backing up a friend who looked me in the eye on multiple occasions and repeatedly denied these allegations, said they weren't true.
"So, it is disappointing, not only for myself as a friend, but for obviously Wisconsin sports fans, Brewer fans, Major League Baseball fans. It doesn't feel great being lied to like that and I'm disappointed about the way it all went down."
Asked if Braun has reached out to him, Rodgers replied, "Yeah, I've talked to him."
Rodgers wouldn't address how the turn of events will affect their friendship or the Milwaukee-area restaurant 8-Twelve, which they are both involved with. However, he certainly didn't rule out the possibility of ending his business association with Braun
"That's yet to be determined yet," Rodgers replied. "I don't regret backing a friend up. Obviously, in hindsight, a more measured approach next time would obviously be the better course of action."
Rodgers, of course, was referring to his multiple posts to his Twitter account in February 2012, after Braun's 50-game suspension was overturned by an arbitrator. Rodgers Tweeted the hashtag #exonerated and also said he'd put his salary on his friend being clean. He also said ESPN and MLB were eating "crow" for going after Braun.
"People make mistakes. I definitely believe in forgiveness and moving forward. Obviously he has a tough task in front of him moving forward with his career on and off the field," Rodgers said of Braun. "As far as the business goes, right now, I'm focused on football, and I have people that can work with me on those type of issues."
"I was disappointed with the way it went down. I trusted him. And that's probably the thing that hurts the most."
Jason Wilde  wrote: