Aaron Rodgers didn’t mince words while addressing the heated controversy from the 2026 Winter Olympics. He thinks the silver medal was never on the cards for American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates. The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, now a free agent, believes the duo deserves nothing but the top spot, which was unfairly denied to them by a French judge on the panel of nine.

“I want to take this time to talk about the absolute hose job that our pairs dancers [Chock and Bates] got,” Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show. “There was a lot of stories about them. They got absolutely hosed by the French judge. Not surprising…They should have won gold for sure. But they won gold in the team competition, which is great, but they’re the husband and wife duo, I think it’s ice dancing. But they were awesome to watch.”

During his last week’s podcast appearance, Aaron Rodgers praised the entire Team USA for putting up sterling performances at the 2026 Winter Olympics, hosted by Italy. But there was another European connection that didn’t sit well with Rodgers, who believes a scandalous judgment robbed the American ice dancing duo of their second gold medal.

Rodgers’ hot take, which resonated with many, referred to the controversial final scoring by French figure skating judge Jézabel Dabouis. Chock and Bates earlier accused the judge of favoring France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, who eventually came out on top. The claim mainly stemmed from her lopsided grading of the American pair in the final round, bringing down their overall score. 

The problematic part? Her individual score was lower than that of her fellow judges. In the free dance event, she gave Chock and Bates 129.74 points, while the rest scored them at least 130. On the other hand, she scored their French competitors 137.45, the second-highest score any judge gave them. The gap of 7.71 points was the largest difference recorded by any of the nine judges on the panel.

Beaudry and Cizeron logged 225.82 total points, exceeding the American dancers’ score by only 1.43 points. That small margin paved the way for their victory, handing Chock and Bates a silver medal. This wasn’t the first time Dabois gave the two teams such contrasting scores. In the earlier rhythm dance portion of the competition, Dabois scored the French duo 93.34 points, while awarding Chock and Bates only 87.6 points. Following the loss, Bates expressed her disappointment on national television.

“We felt like we delivered our absolute best performance that we could have,” Bates said. “It was our Olympic moment. It felt like a winning skate to us, and that’s what we’re going to hold on to.”

Before exiting the tournament, Chock and Bates won a gold medal in the team event, along with a silver one. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers’ comment came after he spoke about another controversial moment from the event.

Aaron Rodgers slams Kash Patel over his Olympic appearance

The country’s hockey team made history last month at the Olympics by winning the gold medal after 46 years. They beat Canada, one of the most successful hockey teams out there, with nine Olympic gold medals. The boys, clearly on cloud nine, had a lively locker room celebration that later faced backlash. It was after FBI Director Kash Patel joined the squad.

In videos surfacing online, he is drinking beer with the team. He also sang a rendition of Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue,” along with the team. Many took issue with Patel’s presence, pushing back against mixing sports with politics. While chatting with Pat McAfee, Aaron Rodgers brought up the controversy, taking a playful jab at the director.

“Can we get that one guy out of the locker room, though, and get him working on something else?” Rodgers joked. “That’s a bad look. Have some awareness.”

Rodgers, who himself has won a Super Bowl, understands the excitement that comes with such a historic victory. However, he likely thinks a politician joining such a cozy celebration could be interpreted in so many ways. It could also be because the QB’s political leanings differ from Patel’s, who has openly advocated for President Donald Trump. 

Meanwhile, Patel identifies himself as a big hockey fan and plays the sport in his leisure time. On February 22, he broke his silence following the controversy.

“Yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys,” he wrote via X. “Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth.”

Although Patel was invited, Rodgers doesn’t see this move as ethical.