Aaron Rodgers
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

One of the side plots to Aaron Rodgers’ big Jets reveal on Pat McAfee’s program Wednesday: His recent snarky text to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and his continued campaign crapping on the NFL scoop-industrial complex and its prominent nugget merchants.

A few thoughts:

• ESPN should have reported the text Rodgers sent to Schefter. Unless Rodgers and Schefter had previously agreed their conversation was off-the-record — which seems very unlikely, given there was almost assuredly no conversation and/or rules of engagement — that text is fair game. And anything from Rodgers, even if it was a passive-aggressive slap, was newsworthy. But then again, we have already established what Schefter does is not journalism, but a journalism-adjacent endeavor.

• Along those same lines: If Rodgers feels compelled to post Schefter’s texts — as he threatened to do — he has just as much right to do so. And something tells us the other side of the conversation could be far more compelling. And potentially embarrassing for ESPN, given Schefter’s ethical track record of late.

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• There is nothing wrong with reporters texting Rodgers. That is how the job is done. You gather information and then you go directly to the source to tell them what you are going to report before you report it. Rodgers is under no obligation to speak to them or even respond. But he was given the opportunity to participate. And a guy who claims to value “direct communication” should respect that.

• Again, Rodgers has every right to pass on engaging with reporters who reach out to him. But it is a bit hypocritical for him to complain about reporting he says is incomplete and false and to blast reporters for it when he had a chance to set the record straight and declined to do so. And if Rodgers is that bent out of shape about what has been said, he should address specific issues head-on and explain why that information is faulty.

• There has been — and will continue to be — much discussion about how Rodgers and the “New York media” will co-exist once he arrives to the Jets. Our guess is things will go just fine. But one thing that could become an issue: When Rodgers runs his mouth, he is going to get called on it and pressed about it. Which is not necessarily something he has dealt with much in his career. That is where things will get interesting.

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James Kratch can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.

James Kratch is the managing editor of ESNY. He previously worked as a Rutgers and Giants (and Mike Francesa) beat reporter for NJ Advance Media.