Aaron Rodgers won’t be playing against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs on Sunday, but that hasn’t stopped him from being the lead topic of conversation around the NFL.
The Packers quarterback is out after getting COVID-19 this week, which led to the revelation that he is unvaccinated and, per league rules, cannot return to the team until next Saturday at the earliest. Rodgers had previously said he was “immunized” prior to the season, leading many to assume he had gotten the vaccine. However, we learned this week what that meant was he underwent an “alternative treatment” that he tried to get the NFL to approve as equal to the vaccine but they denied that request — Rodgers saying they thought he was “a quack.”
On top of Rodgers’ absence, the Packers are now under investigation for not requiring Rodgers to follow all of the league’s protocols for unvaccinated players like flying separately and being masked in press conferences. Rodgers then went on the Pat McAfee Show on Friday and explained his position and why he hadn’t followed policies and gotten the vaccine, saying he took advice from Joe Rogan rather than doctors and medical professionals and spewed an awful lot of other misinformation regarding the vaccine.
On Sunday, Rodgers’ situation was addressed on every NFL pregame show and no one had a stronger rebuke of Rodgers than Terry Bradshaw, who lit into the Packers signal-caller on Fox NFL Sunday for being a liar and calling out those who refuse the vaccine as “thinking only about themselves.”
The discussion on FOX about the Rodgers situation
Jimmy: "I'm disappointed in his selfish actions."
Howie: "Possibly putting your teammates in jeopardy is selfish."
Terry: "Let me give Rodgers some advice, it be nice if he came to the Navel academy and learn how to be honest." pic.twitter.com/O9rT6kDNXm
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 7, 2021
Michael Strahan also expressed frustration with Rodgers’ comments in which he referenced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., saying, “there are times to quote MLK, and this is not one of them.” The Rodgers situation has become fodder for conversation well beyond just the NFL and sports world, as SNL took aim at him in their cold open as well, with Pete Davidson playing the role of the QB.
