Sorry, Aaron Rodgers, but I hope this spreads

You might not have realized that the NFL MVP debate might get annoying in the same fashion as the Baseball Hall of Fame ones do. I know, just when you thought you could find an escape.

Now, it should be noted that Hub Arkush has been a vuvuzela of idiocy for years, but he’s not going to be the only one who treats his MVP vote as some sort of duty to be a morality gatekeeper. And the thing is, and it pains me to say, I’m not sure he’s wrong.

Not that the NFL MVP is supposed to be a test of one’s nature or personality or moral code. Plenty of shitheads have won an MVP. The temptation, because it’s the easy road, is to say that off-the-field antics matter for awards or they don’t, end of story, But it probably isn’t that simple.

There would be an ill-feeling for a lot of folks to see Rodgers win the MVP with what he’s pulled this year. He violated rules, he put people at risk, and he helped amplify some truly fuckwad views that have been hamstringing this country attempting to escape the clutches of the pandemic. Quite frankly, it’s too much to ignore. It would be an extremely awkward look for the NFL, and that’s putting it kindly. Think about Patrick Kane winning an MVP months after being accused of rape. How did that rest?

I know. I’m the guy who says that Clemens and Bonds and Sosa should be in Cooperstown. The Hall isn’t a morality test either. But those players didn’t actually break any rules that were in place at the time. And they didn’t really hurt anyone other than themselves. There are rules against those things now, but none of these guys actually failed an MLB administered drug test that saw them get suspended.

Yeah, it’s a gray area. But most things are in a gray area or nuanced.