Shaw Local’s Hub Arkush will not lose MVP vote, according to the AP

Shaw Local football analyst Hub Arkush will not lose his NFL MVP vote for comments he made this week regarding Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Barry Wilner of the Associated Press confirmed that Arkush is not losing his vote for the NFL’s most prestigious award. Arkush faced criticism this week after he said publicly that he was not voting for Rodgers for MVP.

Arkush has covered the NFL for more than 40 years and is a former member of the Chicago Bears radio broadcast booth. He is one of 50 media members who vote for the NFL MVP award.

Arkush made the original comments during a Tuesday afternoon radio appearance on 670 The Score, where he is a regular contributor and host. He didn’t say who he is voting for, but noted that he would not vote for Rodgers because of the way the quarterback has conducted himself off the field over the past year. Arkush referenced Rodgers’ tumultuous offseason, during which he appeared to want out of Green Bay, and he also referenced Rodgers’ misleading comments about his vaccination status.

Arkush wrote an apology for his comments about Rodgers on Wednesday.

[ Hub Arkush: An open apology for my Aaron Rodgers comments ]

Rodgers called Arkush a “bum” when asked about it during his Wednesday session with the media and said Arkush should lose his MVP vote.

Wilner has organized the AP’s NFL awards, which includes MVP and All-Pro honors, since the early 1990s.

“It’s not the AP’s position that we should be censoring or censuring our voters,” Wilner told Shaw Local. “We do ask them not to reveal who they’re going to vote for until it’s announced at NFL Honors. Hub has admitted he made a mistake by saying who he is not going to vote for.

“But the thing about most valuable player is that valuable is a judgmental word. So we don’t set parameters for our voters on something like that that needs to be somewhat subjective.”

Wilner noted that the AP voting panel is a diverse group that includes media members of all different backgrounds, including print and TV. It even includes Pro Football Hall of Fame members.

“I think they’re very fair, they’re very thorough,” Wilner said. “I’m very proud of the panel we have, and it’s a very representative panel.”