gardenstatebear said:

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movielover said:

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San Jose Mercury: Aaron Rodgers slams Cal teacher who almost got him expelled

"Imagine the history of American professional football if, as Aaron Rodgers says, a professor at UC Berkeley had succeeded in getting him expelled after she told him he would never make it in the NFL or amount to anything.

"In a conversation this weekend with podcaster Joe Rogan, the reigning NFL's Most Valuable Player said his college career was at risk, which probably would have meant he wouldn't have been able to impress scouts for the 2005 NFL Draft...."

""She ripped me apart," the Green Bay Packers quarterback said about a meeting he said he had with the teacher during office hours. He said she told him, "You are an entitled athlete. You expect things to be given to you. What are are you going to with your life?"

"When Rodgers said he told her, "I'm going to play in the NFL," she replied, "No way in hell." ..."

"...Speaking more about the Cal teacher who tried to get him expelled, Rodgers said he and more than a dozen other members of the Cal Golden Bears football team were enrolled in a class that sounds like an easy academic class designed for students to fulfill a basic requirement."

https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/08/29/aaron-rodgers-slams-cal-teacher-who-almost-got-him-expelled

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Speaking as a retired prof, this sounds like "I thought I was taking a mick, and she kicked my ass."

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Spring 2018 I took a fantastic course taught by Nobel Laureate Astrophysicist Saul Perlmutter, philosophy prof John Cambell and psychology prof Tonia Lombrozo. Absolutely fantastic course. One day a week the class would be a half hour shorter because they would hold office hours. Incredibly cool to be able to hang with Saul for 1/2 hour a week and just listen and he was so amazing about engaging with people. I was always dumfounded more students didn't show-up, I mean this is why you go to Berkeley! My biggest accomplishment of that course was discovering how I could get from my class in Barrows Hall to the Goldman School on Hearst and LeRoy without having to backtrack up and down a hill, and only using 12 stair steps... but I digress...

For the most part the GSIs were OK, but a couple were completely full of themselves. If we were unhappy with a particular grade, we were able to challenge it. We had to do these weekly papers... I actually liked them and thought they were fun (plus they were a big part of our grade, which was preferable to me over tests...). I challenged a couple and on one in particular, the GSI was clearly showing a political bias. I challenged very straight forwardly with a memo style correspondence going over the points.

The GSI replied to me that I would be better served showing more deference and respect. F that. My challenge was completely professional and without passion. But now I was PO'd. I showed the exchange to a couple of other professors of mine and they both compelled me to mention something to Saul. So I did, and I'm glad I did. Because most undergrads would just have to take this because they'd be afraid of how escalating something like this could play out. This undergrad didn't have to worry about it. So, while not knowing all the details, I can easily see Aaron's POV. And we all tend to embellish as we get more distance from an event.

Just for fun, I loved this tradition at Cal on the last day of classes...

One of the great traditions at @UCBerkeley is on the last day of lecture, students thanking their profs with applause! In this case @NobelPrize Laureate Saul Perlmutter thanks the awesome 👏 @TaniaLombrozo as she teaches her last class at @Cal! Talk about #WednesdayWisdom! pic.twitter.com/KkSjbkhTt3

— Ken Montgomery (@MontgomeryKen) April 25, 2018

bearlyamazing said:

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calumnus said:

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berserkeley said:

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okaydo said:

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Here's a video I posted on October 24, 2012 -- a full decade ago -- of Rodgers telling the story with the professor on ESPN Wisconsin's The Aaron Rodgers Show.

There's no mention of the professor threatening expulsion.

Wouldn't you think he'd mention that? It's like the headline, right?

In 2012, the story was fresher in his memory and Rodgers had experienced fewer head injuries in his career. Just saying.

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Yeah, I think the video you posted is this honest account and the expulsion threat is a recently added embellishment. And not even a plausible one. You cannot get expelled that easily and it sounds like this prof was really a TA.

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The "threat of expulsion" might have been for plagiarism. Rodgers said the TA had an issue with the citations? (Or lack thereof?). It sounds like the paper he turned in had material cut and pasted from the Internet. Not that uncommon for kids in 2003 or 2004 to do it and to be caught doing it.

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Plagiarism? In a food appreciation class? Who did he plagiarize? Julia Childs?

Pretty sad that so many here put petty politics over giving a little latitude to one of the greatest Cal athletes of all time. No wonder he has some animosity towards the university and alums. Does he have to be a good boy and vax up and toe the party line before he gets the respect here he deserves for his incredible athletic accomplishments?

Grow up people. You can appreciate and support the athletic accomplishments of people who think differently than you do if you're a big enough person. I don't agree with the politics or personalities of lots of athletes and actors I root for or go see in movies because I appreciate their skills and accomplishments. But I guess I'm crazy that way.

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What exactly has the university and its alums done to warrant such animosity?

Serious question.

Has the university spoken out against Rodgers? Were alums wearing anti-Rodgers shirts to Cal games last year? Were students burning his jerseys in effigy?

The only negative thing the university has done, that I could think of, is firing Tedford.

But as I pointed out above, Rodgers was telling his food appreciation story during the Tedford era.

He also, in my opinion, did damage to the Cal football brand by saying "Butte" for many years. (Yes, other Cal alums have shouted out their high school. But when you state a community college over a university, it stings more.)

Oh, and Rodgers started saying Butte during the Tedford era. So it wasn't in reaction to Tedford's firing.

bearlyamazing said:

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calumnus said:

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berserkeley said:

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okaydo said:

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Here's a video I posted on October 24, 2012 -- a full decade ago -- of Rodgers telling the story with the professor on ESPN Wisconsin's The Aaron Rodgers Show.

There's no mention of the professor threatening expulsion.

Wouldn't you think he'd mention that? It's like the headline, right?

In 2012, the story was fresher in his memory and Rodgers had experienced fewer head injuries in his career. Just saying.

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Yeah, I think the video you posted is this honest account and the expulsion threat is a recently added embellishment. And not even a plausible one. You cannot get expelled that easily and it sounds like this prof was really a TA.

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The "threat of expulsion" might have been for plagiarism. Rodgers said the TA had an issue with the citations? (Or lack thereof?). It sounds like the paper he turned in had material cut and pasted from the Internet. Not that uncommon for kids in 2003 or 2004 to do it and to be caught doing it.

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Plagiarism? In a food appreciation class? Who did he plagiarize? Julia Childs?

Pretty sad that so many here put petty politics over giving a little latitude to one of the greatest Cal athletes of all time. No wonder he has some animosity towards the university and alums. Does he have to be a good boy and vax up and toe the party line before he gets the respect here he deserves for his incredible athletic accomplishments?

Grow up people. You can appreciate and support the athletic accomplishments of people who think differently than you do if you're a big enough person. I don't agree with the politics or personalities of lots of athletes and actors I root for or go see in movies because I appreciate their skills and accomplishments. But I guess I'm crazy that way.

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What does this have to do with politics or thinking differently? It's his honesty that's in question. I don't care whether he's vaxxed. Plenty of other athletes weren't vaxxed. I have plenty of family that weren't vaxxed. Didn't judge any of them for it because they were honest about it. Here we see him tell a story that changes over time. In this story, the person in question almost certainly was not a professor and almost certainly did not threaten him with expulsion (unless he plagiarized his paper). Just the fact that he said "I like to say history" shows that he plays fast and loose with the truth. I majored in history and can assure you that food appreciation was part of the history curriculum at Cal.

I still respect the man's athletic skills and what he did for Cal. I will still wear his jersey. But that doesn't mean I can't call out his BS when he spews BS. Especially when his BS is damaging to the university. Talent is not a free pass to dishonesty.

XXXBEAR said:

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I don't understand the negativity towards Rodgers. I really respect him for being his own person, rising to be the best of the best, and not forgetting his alma mater.

And he's right.

I was an athlete at Cal some years before Rodgers and a serious student who wanted graduate school and good grades. I knew never to wear a letter jacket to class. Professors for the most part, disrespected the athletes and could care less about training, schedules, or travel.

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I think the point is that keys details of his story were wrong. And it's feels like a trend with him.

I took Nutri Sci 10 (I believe it was "10") in the early to mid-1990s, which was an introduction to nutritional science. I really enjoyed the class, and during its four months, I learned more about food and nutrition than I had ever before or since. It also motivated me to be the healthiest I had ever been.

I don't remember the class being particularly easy, and I don't remember it being filled with athletes.

berserkeley said:

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bearlyamazing said:

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calumnus said:

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berserkeley said:

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okaydo said:

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Here's a video I posted on October 24, 2012 -- a full decade ago -- of Rodgers telling the story with the professor on ESPN Wisconsin's The Aaron Rodgers Show.

There's no mention of the professor threatening expulsion.

Wouldn't you think he'd mention that? It's like the headline, right?

In 2012, the story was fresher in his memory and Rodgers had experienced fewer head injuries in his career. Just saying.

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Yeah, I think the video you posted is this honest account and the expulsion threat is a recently added embellishment. And not even a plausible one. You cannot get expelled that easily and it sounds like this prof was really a TA.

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The "threat of expulsion" might have been for plagiarism. Rodgers said the TA had an issue with the citations? (Or lack thereof?). It sounds like the paper he turned in had material cut and pasted from the Internet. Not that uncommon for kids in 2003 or 2004 to do it and to be caught doing it.

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Plagiarism? In a food appreciation class? Who did he plagiarize? Julia Childs?

Pretty sad that so many here put petty politics over giving a little latitude to one of the greatest Cal athletes of all time. No wonder he has some animosity towards the university and alums. Does he have to be a good boy and vax up and toe the party line before he gets the respect here he deserves for his incredible athletic accomplishments?

Grow up people. You can appreciate and support the athletic accomplishments of people who think differently than you do if you're a big enough person. I don't agree with the politics or personalities of lots of athletes and actors I root for or go see in movies because I appreciate their skills and accomplishments. But I guess I'm crazy that way.

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What does this have to do with politics or thinking differently? It's his honesty that's in question. I don't care whether he's vaxxed. Plenty of other athletes weren't vaxxed. I have plenty of family that weren't vaxxed. Didn't judge any of them for it because they were honest about it. Here we see him tell a story that changes over time. In this story, the person in question almost certainly was not a professor and almost certainly did not threaten him with expulsion (unless he plagiarized his paper). Just the fact that he said "I like to say history" shows that he plays fast and loose with the truth. I majored in history and can assure you that food appreciation was part of the history curriculum at Cal.

I still respect the man's athletic skills and what he did for Cal. I will still wear his jersey. But that doesn't mean I can't call out his BS when he spews BS. Especially when his BS is damaging to the university. Talent is not a free pass to dishonesty.

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Bingo. It's not that he didn't get vaxxed. It's that he tried to weasel around the question and pretend like he did.

berserkeley said:

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I still respect the man's athletic skills and what he did for Cal. I will still wear his jersey. But that doesn't mean I can't call out his BS when he spews BS. Especially when his BS is damaging to the university. Talent is not a free pass to dishonesty.

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Bingo.

berserkeley said:

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I think the point is that keys details of his story were wrong. And it's feels like a trend with him.

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Double Bingo.

bearlyamazing said:

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calumnus said:

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berserkeley said:

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okaydo said:

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Here's a video I posted on October 24, 2012 -- a full decade ago -- of Rodgers telling the story with the professor on ESPN Wisconsin's The Aaron Rodgers Show.

There's no mention of the professor threatening expulsion.

Wouldn't you think he'd mention that? It's like the headline, right?

In 2012, the story was fresher in his memory and Rodgers had experienced fewer head injuries in his career. Just saying.

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Yeah, I think the video you posted is this honest account and the expulsion threat is a recently added embellishment. And not even a plausible one. You cannot get expelled that easily and it sounds like this prof was really a TA.

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The "threat of expulsion" might have been for plagiarism. Rodgers said the TA had an issue with the citations? (Or lack thereof?). It sounds like the paper he turned in had material cut and pasted from the Internet. Not that uncommon for kids in 2003 or 2004 to do it and to be caught doing it.

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Plagiarism? In a food appreciation class? Who did he plagiarize? Julia Childs?

Pretty sad that so many here put petty politics over giving a little latitude to one of the greatest Cal athletes of all time. No wonder he has some animosity towards the university and alums. Does he have to be a good boy and vax up and toe the party line before he gets the respect here he deserves for his incredible athletic accomplishments?

Grow up people. You can appreciate and support the athletic accomplishments of people who think differently than you do if you're a big enough person. I don't agree with the politics or personalities of lots of athletes and actors I root for or go see in movies because I appreciate their skills and accomplishments. But I guess I'm crazy that way.

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The odd thing about this post (and ones like it) is that I don't see anyone not appreciating Rodgers' athletic accomplishments, as you suggest (in fact, I stated I think he's the greatest QB of all time). I also don't see anyone talking about politics, other than those who seemingly agree with his.

On top of that, you say, "no wonder" Rodgers doesn't support the university, and blame "it" on Cal fans who you have built up as a straw man. But the funny thing is that Rodgers does support the university. In fact, he made a large donation to renovate the football locker room. He also has been saying "Cal" in prime time intros for years now.

movielover said:

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Maybe he's saying 'food appreciation' as a whimsical take on nutrition. Interesting that 12 athletes were in the class.

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As I remember (yeah, it's been a long time), the "10" classes are for students from other disciplines looking for non-technical courses with which to fulfill their science requirements I can well believe that athletes were there to fulfill their science requirement, but I'm sure it was the same for everybody else in the class. It sounds like AR blew off the class and got burned. Or, worse, he engaged in borderline plagarism, and that's why he's claiming he was almost expelled.

gardenstatebear said:

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movielover said:

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San Jose Mercury: Aaron Rodgers slams Cal teacher who almost got him expelled

"Imagine the history of American professional football if, as Aaron Rodgers says, a professor at UC Berkeley had succeeded in getting him expelled after she told him he would never make it in the NFL or amount to anything.

"In a conversation this weekend with podcaster Joe Rogan, the reigning NFL's Most Valuable Player said his college career was at risk, which probably would have meant he wouldn't have been able to impress scouts for the 2005 NFL Draft...."

""She ripped me apart," the Green Bay Packers quarterback said about a meeting he said he had with the teacher during office hours. He said she told him, "You are an entitled athlete. You expect things to be given to you. What are are you going to with your life?"

"When Rodgers said he told her, "I'm going to play in the NFL," she replied, "No way in hell." ..."

"...Speaking more about the Cal teacher who tried to get him expelled, Rodgers said he and more than a dozen other members of the Cal Golden Bears football team were enrolled in a class that sounds like an easy academic class designed for students to fulfill a basic requirement."

https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/08/29/aaron-rodgers-slams-cal-teacher-who-almost-got-him-expelled

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Speaking as a retired prof, this sounds like "I thought I was taking a mick, and she kicked my ass."

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Speaking as an ex-Cal student, this sounds like one of "never got out of the campus bubble" instructors.

Unfortunately, it is getting national coverage. Im the Google News aggregator. The schools is made to sound like the profs are aholes, where my experience was just the opposite,

wifeisafurd said:

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Unfortunately, it is getting national coverage. Im the Google News aggregator. The schools is made to sound like the profs are aholes, where my experience was just the opposite,

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Sadly, when I was a student at Cal, the few football players I knew had their share of stories about our faculty, that at best was apathy towards them, but often worse, indeed at ahole level. I was under the belief that changed for the better later, I trust that it has today...

wifeisafurd said:

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Unfortunately, it is getting national coverage. Im the Google News aggregator. The schools is made to sound like the profs are aholes, where my experience was just the opposite,

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The good news that as Fox News denounces college loan forgiveness as giving relief to students studying lesbian dance theory and basket weaving, one of the most prominent players in the No. 1 sport went on one of the most popular podcasts to discuss taking a class called "Food Appreciation" at UC Berkeley.

okaydo said:

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wifeisafurd said:

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Unfortunately, it is getting national coverage. Im the Google News aggregator. The schools is made to sound like the profs are aholes, where my experience was just the opposite,

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The good news that as Fox News denounces college loan forgiveness as giving relief to students studying lesbian dance theory and basket weaving, one of the most prominent players in the No. 1 sport went on one of the most popular podcasts to discuss taking a class called "Food Appreciation" at UC Berkeley.

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Yes, there is nothing about the story that will make Cal look good.

Definitely Nutri Sci 10. Got a solid A in that class, surrounded by athletes. That course was on The List. I did learn, however, that the egg white has more protein than the egg yolk, an no cholesterol. Probably saved my life.

Egg yolks are a fabulous source of iron, folate, vitamins and two nutrients - lutein and zeaxanthin - that support eye and brain health. Dr. Berg eats five (organic) eggs a day.

It was a nurtra-sci class. I was in the class with ARod and other teammates. The professor hated athletes and ARod stood his ground on multiple occasions. She didn't like that and made it a point to make it difficult on him.

The animosity from ARod and most fb players is that school and athletics have/had a huge disconnect. I had some amazing professors that supported the athletes but I also had quite a few that looked down on student athletes because they felt the student athletes didn't deserve to be in their class for whatever reason. I wouldn't trade my experience for anything but when you talk to players from other PAC universities their interaction with facility were vastly different than Cal. That's my opinion and my experience.

movielover said:

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Maybe he's saying 'food appreciation' as a whimsical take on nutrition. Interesting that 12 athletes were in the class.

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Ah, the good ol' Tedford years!

Gobears16 said:

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It was a nurtra-sci class. I was in the class with ARod and other teammates. The professor hated athletes and ARod stood his ground on multiple occasions. She didn't like that and made it a point to make it difficult on him.

The animosity from ARod and most fb players is that school and athletics have/had a huge disconnect. I had some amazing professors that supported the athletes but I also had quite a few that looked down on student athletes because they felt the student athletes didn't deserve to be in their class for whatever reason. I wouldn't trade my experience for anything but when you talk to players from other PAC universities their interaction with facility were vastly different than Cal. That's my opinion and my experience.

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For this reason, I'll always be impressed by Joe Igber who got a BS in Civil Engineering at Cal while playing football (most of it for those god-awful Holmoe teams).

I remember taking this class at Cal.

I kept telling the professor, David Presti, that I love taking his "Drug Appreciation" class.

He sure appreciated me calling it that, as I'm sure Rodgers' Nutri-Sci professor loved being told she's teaching "Food Appreciation."

sycasey said:

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GMP said:

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okaydo said:

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Here's a video I posted on October 24, 2012 -- a full decade ago -- of Rodgers telling the story with the professor on ESPN Wisconsin's The Aaron Rodgers Show.

There's no mention of the professor threatening expulsion.

Wouldn't you think he'd mention that? It's like the headline, right?

In 2012, the story was fresher in his memory and Rodgers had experienced fewer head injuries in his career. Just saying.

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This part also cracked me up:

Quote:

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With Rogan, Rodgers seemed interested in settling a few scores, even as he said that his "ayahuasca journey" the use of traditional psychoactive substances to help him gain personal insight and growth had helped diffuse some of his anger, leaving him mostly interested in spreading kindness and positively.

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And yet he tells this story about a professor trying to get him expelled and said all these things to doubt him, which he is clearly hanging onto 18 years later.

The dude is a great QB. IMO, the best ever. He's also a weird, weird dude.

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He's got that Michael Jordan gene, where he has to constantly find doubters and haters in his life to keep fueling him competitively. I guess it works!

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I agree, except Jordan is more self aware of that about himself....and I think Jordan found enough of it "on the court," not as much in his daily life, if that makes sense....

movielover said:

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Maybe he's saying 'food appreciation' as a whimsical take on nutrition. Interesting that 12 athletes were in the class.

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A food nutrition course (with all the organic, environmental and other Issues that come with food) is a real course and is the most popular undergrad course at Furd (it is called Food and Society: Exploring Eating Behaviors in Social, Environmental, and Policy Context) and other schools. What happened to AR (if accurate) is he got a TA or Prof that hated football players pr athletes generally and used their power over a student to make their life miserable. The problem for the TA or Prof is the student gained national stature.

If Cal Strong could have lunch each Friday with one person for 11 consecutive weeks, with any 11 of the following 12 people:

Joe Igber
Jeff Tedford
Aaron Rodgers
Joe Kapp
Geoff MacArthur
Marshawn Lynch
Nate Longshore
LP Loadoceur
JJ Arrington
Steve Levy
Mitchel Schwartz
Zach Follett

Cal Strong would choose everyone except Rodgers. He just not very interesting.

But if Cal Strong was drafting an NFL team, he would choose Rodgers #1.

Cal Strong! said:

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If Cal Strong could have lunch each Friday with one person for 11 consecutive weeks, with any 11 of the following 12 people:

Joe Igber
Jeff Tedford
Aaron Rodgers
Joe Kapp
Geoff MacArthur
Marshawn Lynch
Nate Longshore
LP Loadoceur
JJ Arrington
Steve Levy
Mitchel Schwartz
Zach Follett

Cal Strong would choose everyone except Rodgers. He just not very interesting.

But if Cal Strong was drafting an NFL team, he would choose Rodgers #1.

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Not a big fan of la burrita either?

wifeisafurd said:

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movielover said:

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Maybe he's saying 'food appreciation' as a whimsical take on nutrition. Interesting that 12 athletes were in the class.

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A food nutrition course (with all the organic, environmental and other Issues that come with food) is a real course and is the most popular undergrad course at Furd (it is called Food and Society: Exploring Eating Behaviors in Social, Environmental, and Policy Context) and other schools. What happened to AR (if accurate) is he got a TA or Prof that hated football players pr athletes generally and used their power over a student to make their life miserable. The problem for the TA or Prof is the student gained national stature.

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Though honestly, Rodgers was incredibly cocky/arrogant at Cal. His arrogance in his interviews reportedly cost him the #1 position with the Niners. That, and sitting behind Farve (and just maturing) has made him a little more humble, but his "confidence" is one of his strengths as a player. However, I can easily imagine it would rub a TA the wrong way.