New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has claimed that “hundreds” of players across the NFL have asked about the experiences with psychedelics.
The 39-year-old was traded to the Jets in April from the Green Bay Packers, after previously spending 18 years in Wisconsin. Rodgers has one Super Bowl in his career and has been named NFL MVP four times, including back-to-back years in 2020 and 2021.
Rodgers has been busy for the last couple of months in the early stages of the off-season with the Jets. The 2023 regular season begins in September, with Rodgers and the Jets having four pre-season games before then throughout August.
After taking part in some organised team activities (OTAs) and mandatory minicamps with the Jets, Rodgers and the rest of the roster are enjoying a few weeks break before returning later in the summer. During that time, Rodgers appeared at the Psychedelic Science 2023 conference in Denver, Colorado on Wednesday, June 21.
During the conference, Rodgers opened up on his own experiences with ayahuasca, a drink brewed in the Amazon that is typically drunk socially or as a spiritual medicine by indigenous people living in the area. The brew is said to cause ‘psychedelic experiences’ for those who drink it, which include visual hallucinations or altered perceptions of reality.
“I've been fortunate enough in the last few years to be able to sit in ceremony with teammates,” Rodgers said at the conference.
“I'm telling you, it is radically life-changing and it's wild to be in a locker room and look over and just know, like, I've been in the maloca (a house used by indigenous people of the Amazon). It's pretty special. It changes the dynamic, for sure.
“And in the process, like I said, there's been hundreds of NFL guys who have reached out. [...] It's been really really fun to be able to connect with these guys who've done this work or was fascinated by it and want to learn more about it.”
Rodgers has previously spoken about his experiences with ayahuasca, with the NFL saying in August 2022 that he would not face any penalties for the trips he took during two separate off-seasons. Now the NFL quarterback has used his own experiences to explain why he thinks people need to be educated on the subject.
“We have the opportunity to change the conversation by dispelling these archaic myths about the dangers of them or the negative side effects or whatever might be and start to share the actual wisdom and truth about it,” Rodgers added.
“It's a permission slip for other people to stand up, talk about their own experiences, to join in and to dive in and to learn about it. And I think that's how we move this conversation forward, is more people to be out there, comfortable talking about their own journeys.
"Their spiritual journey, their medicine journey, their ceremonies. So we can bring this to people who need it.”
