Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and FOX Sports sideline reporter Erin Andrews made headlines recently after their postgame hug went viral. Now, Andrews is finally addressing the issue after weeks of silence.
To recall, Andrews interviewed Rodgers right after he broke Brett Favre's passing touchdown record with the Packers in Week 16 against the Cleveland Browns. While the two were standing six-feet apart during the interview, they hugged each other after the talk–to the surprise of fans and haters who took to social media to share their criticisms to the gesture.
Andrews has remained silent about the issue until she aired her side on her podcast with Charissa Thompson, called “Calm Down with Erin and Charissa.” According to the veteran reporter, she is confused why a lot of people are making a big deal out of it.
“I pretty much have hugged Rodgers since I started covering the NFL. He’s been a good friend of mine for the last 15 years,” Andrews said, via New York Post. “It was so funny because the people close to me in my life like my family or other quarterbacks I know or other players are like ‘Why is this a big deal?'”
Erin Andrews also highlighted that she might have been picked on because she is a woman, while Aaron Rodgers is a lightning rod who has had his fair share of controversies with the Packers this 2o21 season.
“I’ve watched ‘Monday Night Football' with [Randy] Moss hugging the guy and I never get that way because I’m grateful for my job and employers but for the first time I was like ‘Is this a chick thing? If I was a guy and gave him a hug would anybody have cared?' I wanted to right it so bad. I gave [Matt] Stafford a hug and I’m friends with him and his wife and no one said anything. Maybe because Aaron is a lightning rod. So stupid. Slow news day,” Andrews furthered.
For what it's worth, Aaron Rodgers himself addressed the issue as well in his recent appearance on the Pat McAfee podcast, noting how he is good friends with Andrews. With that said, the Packers star admitted he found it a bit strange there are talks about it.
“Look, I've known [Andrews] for a long time, and I think the whole thing is obviously a little bit strange,” Rodgers said, per Sports Illustrated. “You've gotta do some sort of eight-feet apart interview. And that's my friend. The same way I'd hug a friend seeing him on the field, or hug a guy on the opposing team that you have respect for when you play against. Look, I do what I'm told in those situations about keeping distance, but I'm a hugger and I enjoy seeing my friends postgame.”
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