WASHINGTON — The public drama between Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers was surely on lots of peoples' minds Saturday as the reigning NFL MVP checked out the Kentucky Derby.
Rodgers attended the 147th Run for the Roses with his fiancée, actress Shailene Woodley.
ESPN reported Thursday, hours before the start of the 2021 NFL Draft, that Rodgers has indicated he doesn’t want to return to the Packers.
The Kentucky Derby seemed like it could be the first time fans would hear from Rodgers directly about the ongoing situation.
He declined the offer.
NBC's Mike Tirico announced during the pre-race coverage Saturday that he had talked with Rodgers at Churchill Downs, but the NFL quarterback didn't want to talk on camera.
Tirico went on to explain that he can characterize Rodgers as "disappointed that news has come out of this rift with the Packers."
"He expressed a couple of times how much he loves Green Bay, loves the fans, loves the franchise. There is a fissure, a chasm, between management and the reigning NFL MVP. We're just not sure how this is going to play out," Tirico described.
Earlier in the day, Packers CEO Mark Murphy said he is “very much aware” of Rodgers' concerns with the organization and acknowledged team officials have flown out to meet with the quarterback "on a number of occasions" to try and resolve the situation.
“This is an issue that we have been working on for several months,” Murphy wrote in a column posted on the Packers' website.
A photo posted on social media before Saturday's race showed Rodgers, along with Woodley, with other members of their Derby group which included actor Miles Teller and former Green Bay wide receiver Randall Cobb.
Rodgers did do an on-camera interview with Twin Spires Saturday afternoon, but their chat was focused only on the Derby Day and horse racing.
The Associated Press Contributed to this report.