Rodgers, a 27-year-old cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings who’d had a decent season prior to Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, his former club, was the target of racial slurs in the aftermath of his performance.
‘Some of the most racist comments I ever seen or read since i enter the league (sic),’ Rodgers wrote on his official X account on Monday.
He added: ‘Racism is real keep football, football. Thats not even the worst Ive Seen. Stay solid or stay silent ‘F A N S’ Fake Applause, No Support Or Faithful And Never Switching Pick a side and stay on it !’
Rodgers also shared screenshots on Instagram, which showed users directing decades-old hateful slurs at him with another declaring ‘ur worse than Hitler’ − though that individual eventually apologized.
The Vikings weighed in with a statement of their own while coming to Rodgers’ defense.
‘We are disgusted by the racial slurs directed at Isaiah Rodgers following yesterday’s game,’ read the Vikes’ statement on X, while urging fans ‘to eliminate racism.’
Rodgers surrendered a 79-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith in the third quarter Sunday and a 45-yard completion to A.J. Brown in the fourth that effectively clinched Philadelphia’s 28-22 victory.
Last month, Rodgers was named the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Week for Week 3 after becoming the first player since 2000 with two forced fumbles and two defensive touchdowns in the same game while playing a pivotal role in a defeat of the Cincinnati Bengals.
After earning a Super Bowl ring with Philadelphia last season, Rodgers signed a two-year, $11 million deal with Minnesota in March.