Breaking: Aaron Rodgers Fight Back: Jets’ QB Clashes with ESPN Analyst Over Vaccine Debate
The public perception of New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has flipped from near universal approval to a status as one of the more polarizing stars in all of sports over a matter of just a few years.
Part of that transition can be tied to his exit from the Green Bay Packers and a steady decline in his play over the last three seasons. However, another part is connected to Rodgers’ personal and political beliefs, which include his history with COVID-19 vaccinations.
Last week Rodgers implied some of the industry’s top personalities are unqualified to talk about sports or criticize him, calling their opinions “asinine” and asserting they are made in an attempt to gain celebrity. He also contended those criticisms are rooted in bias because of his public scorn for the vaccine.
Say whatever the f*** you want about me, I don’t care. But just before you do it … just state your vax status so that anything you say afterwards gets put in the right light,” Rodgers said on the Dec. 17 edition of The Pat McAfee Show. “Just get it out there because then when you say things about me, people can at least be like, ‘Oh, you are captured by the multimillion-dollar propaganda PSY-OP and you’re still upset about it.’ … Everybody knows, ‘OK, cool, you’re twice vaxxed Moderna with three booster shots. … I don’t care. Just please help everybody out there who’s wondering, ‘Where is this coming from?’ Including myself.”
Rodgers then appeared to take a shot directly at NFL analyst Ryan Clark of ESPN, after Clark called Rodgers out on last Friday’s edition of “First Take.”
The reason you’re getting the opportunity to say these asinine things is because someone is paying you — exactly like the people you’re calling out,” Clark said, noting that McAfee pays Rodgers seven figures annually to make a weekly appearances. “This dude is a fraud. He’s been a fraud. He acts like he’s above everybody and everything.”
In what appeared to be a direct response, Rodgers said the following: “Just put it out there on your bio on your shows or whatever. You don’t just need a broach with your initials. Put your vax status on there too.”
Clark often goes by his initials (R.C.) and was wearing a broach with that written on it Friday.
Rodgers said he was “immunized” amid the global pandemic in summer 2021. But in November of that year, the league sidelined him for 10 days due to his status as an unvaccinated player.
Rodgers never actually took the vaccine and publicly referred to his personal homeopathic treatments as “immunization,” despite the league refusing to equate those with standard vaccination schedules.
