Any amount of joy quarterback Aaron Rodgers was still experiencing on Wednesday following the New York Jets’ victory over the New England Patriots quickly subsided once he learned one of his former teammates had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
On Tuesday, legendary Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre announced during a congressional hearing that doctors informed him in January that he was suffering from the neurodegenerative disease.
The quarterbacks were both on the Packers roster from 2005-07, with Rodgers’ draft selection in 2005 effectively serving as Green Bay’s plan to have someone in place to succeed Favre.
Rodgers said while it was “tough” to hear about the diagnosis, but he also admitted brain disorders are one of the built-in risks that come with playing football.
NFL LEGEND BRETT FAVRE DETAILS SYMPTOMS HE NOTICED BEFORE PARKINSON’S DIAGNOSIS
“The older you get, and some of you know this, but mortality kind of gets thrown in our face a little bit more,” Rodgers said on Wednesday. “It’s actually, unfortunately, more normal to hear about a death or a cancer diagnosis or a diagnosis like this. It doesn’t desensitize it for me.
“I mean, I feel bad for him, and [wife] Deanna. It’s unfortunately part of our game. That’s part of the risk of playing in the league, and we all in the back of our minds know that could be a reality at some point. We hope medicine at some point can catch up and either make the symptoms easier or eradicate some of these issues that we have.”
Favre referred to a now-defunct concussion drug company he invested in when he revealed his Parkinson’s diagonis as he gave his testimony.
“Sadly, I also lost an investment in a company that I believed was developing a breakthrough concussion drug I thought would help others,” Favre said. “I’m sure you’ll understand, while it’s too late for me because I’ve recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, this is also a cause dear to my heart.”
The revelation about his health largely overshadowed the former NFL quarterback’s testimony about Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare funds. The money in question is under scrutiny and is at the crux of a wide-ranging Mississippi case that the Super Bowl winner has been embroiled in for more than two years.
A 2019 state audit determined that no less than $77 million of TANF funds were misappropriated. Favre has not been criminally charged.
Favre last played in the NFL in 2010. There is no known cure for Parkinson’s disease.
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