UCLA’s Jewish Football Superstar, Josh Rosen, Is Not Afraid To Speak His Mind

Josh Rosen is one of the most talented college football players in the country. But in addition to making a statement on the football field, Josh Rosen might be just as noteworthy for his outspokenness off the field.

The 6 foot 4 inch, 220-pound UCLA quarterback has the look of a future NFL superstar. But in a sport where coaches seem to want their players to be automatons, Rosen is refreshingly candid.

At age 20, Rosen has spoken out repeatedly against the NCAA’s amateur system. In this system, athletes’ compensation of a college scholarship is vastly outweighed by the hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue that their exploits bring to their university.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Josh has also criticized the workload schools give student athletes. In an interview with the Bleacher Report Rosen said – “Look, football and school don’t go together”.

(And to top it off, Josh posted a selfie on Instagram last year, wearing a “F—k Trump” hat.)

But the only way that Rosen could back that up is by being a great football player while on the gridiron.

Josh Rosen, the Jewish college football quarterback, was the Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year in 2015. He then bounced back from an injury plagued sophomore season to become one of the nation’s leading quarterbacks, astonishing fans by throwing 491 yards to lead the Bruins to an epic 45–44 comeback victory against Texas A&M in September.

While some prospective NFL coaches have expressed concern about his brashness, Rosen has stuck to his guns. “I am not going to be fake,” Rosen told Bleacher Report. “I will not be a robot.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount