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Aaron Rodgers hits out at controversial new biography and says stories are 'not based on a lot of fact' after it shed light on bitter family feud
Aaron Rodgers is the subject of a new biography, which has become the source of some trepidation for the high-profile quarterback.
'There are some interesting stories I'm sure that will come out of it,' the New York Jets quarterback told WFAN hosts Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti. 'And ones that are not based on a lot of fact, to be honest.'
The book, Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers, was written by long-time New York sportswriter Ian O'Connor and will be released on Tuesday.
Rodgers doesn't take issue with O'Connor's efforts to tell the story, but remains skeptical that the author's sources are putting events in proper context.
'There's stories in there that I'm sure are true, there's stories that are exaggerated over time. There's stories that are perspectively true to people,' Rodgers said.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers looks on during training camp during a training camp practice
'[O'Connor] was trying to do a really good job in getting the entire picture, but you have to put everything into context. I don't know what kind of book he's gonna write.'
Rodgers made one thing perfectly clear all by himself: He wasn't looking to be the subject of a major biography.
'I commend him for the time he spent on it, but it's not a book I asked him to write for me,' said Rodgers, who agreed to be interviewed by O'Connor late in the process.
'I think he reached out to 500 people and talked to maybe half of those people,' Rodgers told Esiason, himself a former Jets quarterback.
'At the end, although I believe he had already written the first draft, we had a conversation and sat down. It was more just kind of him asking a few things. A lot of the stuff that was in there is 20-plus years old.'
'It's not a book I asked him to write for me,' the Jets quarterback said of the author
The long mysterious rift between Rodgers and his family is a central focus in 'Connor's new biography. But while Rodgers' parents blame the friction on his ex-girlfriend Olivia Munn (something both he and the Hollywood actress deny), there are other alleged culprits.
In a selection that was edited and republished by O'Connor's New York Post, it's other members of the family who take some of the blame for the quarrel that reportedly began in 2014.
Without naming anyone specifically, Rodgers' former junior college football coach Craig Rigsbee pointed at perceived moochers in the quarterback's life. 'They just can't be hanging on your coattails their whole lives.'
Rigsbee also told a revealing story about Rodgers' frustrations over younger brother Jordan's role on ABC's Bachelorette.
The year was 2016 and Rodgers was taking part in a celebrity golf tournament near Lake Tahoe when someone in the crowd referenced Jordan, a former CFL quarterback-turned reality television star.
'Hey, are you Jordan Rodgers's brother?' Rigsbee recalled. 'F***ing [Aaron] looked over there and he was legitimately pissed off and shook his head.'
The problem, according to Rigsbee, was some people in Rodgers' orbit didn't know how far they were pushing him.
'People try to take advantage of you and pretty soon they do other s***, and then you get pissed off, and it's a tough thing,' Rigsbee said, again, without mentioning anyone by name. 'Then they talk bad about you like, 'Oh, he's stuck up,' or, 'Oh, he abandoned me.' No, he's f–kin' tired of taking care of your ass.'
Jordan Rodgers (right) married JoJo Fletcher (left) as part of ABC's The Bachelorette
Olivia Munn and Aaron Rodgers arrive at the 88th Annual Academy Awards
And it's here that Rigsbee brings Rodgers' brothers, Jordan and Luke, back into the conversation.
'The only thing I ever did is, I kind of got on [Aaron's] brothers' asses when they were down-talking him one time when they were in town,' Rigsbee told O'Connor. 'I said, ''That's enough of that s***. Do not say that s*** in public, and don't talk about it now.'''
A representative for Jordan Rodgers did not respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment on Tuesday.
Rodgers and his younger brother did begin speaking again, a source told People in 2022. However, that source noted there was 'still a division' at the time.
The elder Rodgers, father Ed, has also been in touch with the Green Bay Packers legend.
It was 2017 at that aforementioned celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe where the two first reconnected.
The book, which comes out on August 20, explains that the four-time NFL MVP found his father in the crowd while the quarterback was searching for a bathroom. But despite the friction between the two, Aaron decided against snubbing the man who taught him to play football.
'I could do a lot of things,' Rodgers is quoted as saying in the book. 'But I just thought, ''What's best in this moment, and what kind of gift could I give him?'' Because I do love him. I don't have animosity toward him, even with all the stuff that's been said and done.'
Aaron Rodgers' father Ed (left), brother Jordan (center) and brother Luke (right)
Rodgers was playing at a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada in 2023 when he ran into Ed
A northern California chiropractor, Ed had attended the event in Tahoe in hopes of seeing his son.
'It had been so long since we even looked at each other,' Ed told O'Connor. 'I just kind of froze.'
Aaron kept it simple.
'Hi Pops,' he said before embracing his father, according to O'Connor.
'I love you,' Aaron said.
'I love you too,' Ed replied.
Aaron obviously had a round of golf to finish so the reunion was short lived, but according to Ed, 'it was amazing.'
Aaron agreed that it 'was a special moment.'
Later Aaron told his friend and caddie Jordan Russell: 'I think that was what needed to happen.'
The exact cause of the friction between Rodgers and his family remains unclear and a Munn spokesman declined to comment when contacted by DailyMail.com.
To O'Connor, Rodgers emphatically denied that Munn's presence led to a rift between him and his parents.
In fact, the Super Bowl champion suggested that the issues with his parents predated the start of his relationship with Munn in 2014, telling O'Connor that she 'has nothing to do with all the years before.'
Rodgers is also learning some things from O'Connor's reporting, including facts about his paternal grandfather, Edward Rodgers, a decorated World War II combat pilot and the subject of the first chapter.
'[O'Connor] sent me a copy [of] a war crimes tribunal that got together [where] my grandfather got to testify in front of the war crimes commission,' Rodgers said.
'The cool part is that he had to give a bunch of information about his past and so I got to learn stuff about my grandfather like where he was living at,' he continued, adding that he didn't know his grandfather attended school at Texas.
'I appreciate that kind of research,' he added.
O'Connor previously revealed that Edward completed 43 successful missions against Hitler's war machine before being shot down by the Germans. He was then captured and beaten as a Prisoner of War in horrifying conditions.
Edward is also remembered for saving his crew of 10 men in their burning, bullet-ridden B-24 by flying it back to his base in Italy on St. Patrick's Day 1944.
Rodgers is not expected to play in Saturday's preseason game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte. Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm local time.