Sammy Watkins: Packers Celebration an Ode to Aaron Rodgers amid Ayahuasca Controversy
Aaron Rodgers' ayahuasca adventure made its way to national television Sunday night, as the Green Bay Packers celebrated an Allen Lazard touchdown reception by pouring each other tea in the end zone during their 27-10 win over the Chicago Bears.
Packers wide receivers spilled the tea on their touchdown tea party, with Sammy Watkins saying it was an "ode" to their quarterback's journey with the hallucinogenic beverage. Randall Cobb played it coy, saying the team was "just drinking some tea," while Rodgers himself (poorly) tried to deflect.
The reigning NFL MVP made headlines this offseason when he credited his use of ayahuasca during a three-day trip to Peru in 2020 with a return to superstar form.
"I don't think it's a coincidence," Rodgers said on the Aubrey Marcus Podcast. "I really don't. I don't really believe in coincidences at this point. It's the universe bringing things to happen when they're supposed to happen.
"There's signs and synchronicities all around us at all times if we're awake enough to see them and to take them in and to listen to our intuition when it's speaking to us or pounding us in the head saying, 'Hey dummy, this is what you're supposed to be doing.'"
Rodgers said his experience with the beverage, which produces a psychedelic reaction, helped him on a journey of "self-love" that made him a better teammate and player. Since first experimenting with ayahuasca in 2020, Rodgers became the fifth player in NFL history to win MVPs in consecutive seasons and found a late-career renaissance after seemingly starting to decline in 2018 and 2019.
The NFL said Rodgers' experimentation did not violate any drug policies, and there's no expectation of any fine coming from the celebration—even though the league office likely isn't pleased it put psychedelic drug use back in the national conversation.
