Green Bay Packers’ 37-year-old MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers continues to take his share of flack for misleading the public last summer about his vaccine status. Rodgers told the sports press before the season that he was “immunized,” creating ambiguity about his vaccine status. NBC Sports announcer Bob Constas, former Los Angeles Lakers NBA Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdula-Jabbar and former Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw, now a CBS sports analyst, all call Rodgers a “liar,” for not admitting last summer he wasn’t vaccinated. “I made some comments that people might have felt were misleading, and to anybody who felt misled by those comments, I take full responsibility for those comments,” Rodgers told SeriusXM Satellite Radio host Pat McAfee. Rodgers has been slammed because he violated the NFL’s vaccine policy.
Rodgers has been forced into a mea culpa after some his sponsors dropped him including State Farm Insurance. While State Farm will survive without Rodgers, there’s no question he’s among the insurance company’s most popular professional athletes. In today’s politically correct world, Rodgers’ comments about his vaccine status created the latest media hubbub. “I shared an opinion that is polarizing. I get it,” Rodgers said.
“And I misled some people about bout status, which I take full responsibility of those comments,” Rodgers said. NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell hoped Rodgers would be on the same page in expecting all players to seek vaccines. Rodgers’ critics at the New York Times Magazine said he put his own self-interest above his teammates and NFL colleagues. Yet as soon as Rodgers tested positive, he immediately quarantined to protect players-and-staff.
Rodgers has become a celebrity test case for 78-year-old President Joe Biden’s Sept. 9 vaccine mandates. Biden watched the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans place a stay on his mandates, pending further legal review. So, when it comes to the legal issues related to vaccine mandates, it’s not clear Biden has the supreme authority to order federal, state and local workers to get vaccines or potentially lose their jobs. Rodgers said he was under doctor’s orders when he went on an immune-boosting routine taking hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin, both of which are recommended by alternative medial practitioners, not the Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] and Food and Drug Administration [FDA]. Whether Rodgers protocol works or not, he was not following NFL guidelines when it cam to taking one of the three approved vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
Rodgers made clear that he marches to the beat of a different drummer, seeking alternative treatments, claiming he’s allergic to mRNA vaccines, concerned that he could develop myocarditis, heart inflammation, with the J&J vaccine. But Rodgers critics and the media say he “lied” and should pay a stiff price for his nonconformity. “But in the end, I have to stay true to who I am and what’s I’m about, and I stand behind the things I said,” Rodgers told the press. Rodgers can’t understand the vicious attacks by Abdul-Jabbar, turning his decision to not take conventional Covid-19 vaccines as degrading the entire sports world. Clearly, Kareem had an ax to grind, perhaps because Rodgers is white and considered the most sought after professional athlete of his generation. Abdul-Jabbar was so prickly, so irascible, so intemperate, he kept the media and sponsors at a distance through his NBA career.
Rodgers refusal to go the conventional route pushed by the White House and the NFL makes him a pariah in the eyes of some. “And I have a ton of empathy for people who have been going through the worst part of this pandemic,” Rodgers said, just avoiding the jab for himself. Rodger’s was accused of being supremely selfish by New York Magazine, not seeing the vaccine decision as a personal choice. As presented by the White House and NFL, you’d think it was un-American to refuse a vaccine, even though Covid-19 vaccines haven’t been shown to prevent recipients from getting the virus. Unlike other vaccines, the Covid-19 vaccine is not guarantee that you won’t get infected though research shows it prevents hospitalizations and server symptoms. Unlike other professional athletes, Rodgers has the kind of Teflon personality that prevents thins kind of controversy from sticking.
Biden’s vaccine mandates now hang in the balance in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. If it’s determined that vaccine mandates are, in fact, unconstitutional, would the White House or NFL take such liberties to impose them on the public and professional sports leagues? “I’m exited about feeling better. I’m excited about moving forward and hopefully getting back with my team and getting back to doing what I do best, and that’s playing ball,” Rodgers said. With vaccine mandates up in the air, the White House and professional sports leagues must take into account alternative opinions about the advisability of vaccines. Today’s one-size-fits-all approach to vaccines could be deemed unconstitutional, in which case all the ire directed toward Rodgers would look foolish. Instead of accusing Rodgers of “lying,” journalists and the NFL front-office should reserve judgment pending a clear legal ruling..
