Aaron Rodgers broke his silence Friday after testing positive for COVID-19, spouting all kinds of anti-COVID-19 vaccination rhetoric on The Pat McAfee Show and declaring he was at the center of a witch hunt.
The irony: He claimed he wasn’t an anti-vaxxer.
Throughout the segment, the Green Bay Packers quarterback expressed his concerns about how the vaccine would affect his fertility, questioned how the rules should be different for someone who wasn’t vaccinated and threw out the very familiar and super-ironic “My body, my choice” talk we’ve heard from those who refuse to get a vaccine.
Let’s break down some of his most outrageous quotes from the interview:
1
He started off by talking about the "woke mob" and "cancel culture"
Aaron Rodgers to Pat McAfee just now: "I realize I'm in the crosshairs of the woke mob right now so before my final nail gets put in my cancel culture casket, I'd like to set the record straight on so many of the blatant lies out there."
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) November 5, 2021
This comes after Rodgers was under fire for telling reporters he was “immunized” but it turns out he was not actually vaccinated. Yet he claimed the treatments he received made him “immunized.”
"My plan was to say I have been immunized. It wasn't some sort of ruse or lie. It was the truth."
Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show, Aaron Rodgers took issue with those who called his statement that he had been "immunized" misleading.https://t.co/1BCXnSAR8L
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 5, 2021
He claimed, somehow, that he wasn’t an anti-vaxxer, yet he spent a lot of time questioning vaccines. He claimed he has an allergy to an ingredient in mRNA vaccines.
"I'm not an anti-vaxx, flat-earther.. I have an allergy to an ingredient that's in the mRNA vaccines. I found a long term immunization protocol to protect myself & I'm very proud of the research that went into that" ~@AaronRodgers12#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/FDMmI5rZmO
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 5, 2021
2
His main point, as it is for a large segment of unvaccinated people: "Personal health decisions ... should be private"
Throughout the interview, he encouraged people to make their own decisions, and talked about “natural immunity.”
"This vaccine is revolutionary however we don't know a whole lot about it. For the media taking shots at me you now know my story so quit lying about me.. personal health decisions in my opinion should be private" ~@AaronRodgers12#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/N1mDwsPYup
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 5, 2021
More from Rodgers:
"There's a lot to natural immunity, and natural immunity has not been part of the conversation"
"If you've gotten covid, and recovered from it, that's the best boost to immunity that we can have"
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) November 5, 2021
More from Aaron Rodgers:
"What about my body, my choice? What about making the best decision for my circumstance?"
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) November 5, 2021
Yet the CDC has found vaccination offers higher protection than previous COVID-19 infection.
3
He consulted with Joe Rogan -- the podcaster -- and is taking Ivermectin
Rogan, last time I checked, is not a doctor. And the FDA has warned that “Currently available data do not show ivermectin is effective against COVID-19” and “taking large doses of ivermectin is dangerous.”
Ivermectin, for those who don’t know, is used for animals to prevent parasites.
Aaron Rodgers consulted with Joe Rogan on medical treatments for Covid pic.twitter.com/rBoselKwJ0
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) November 5, 2021
4
He quotes Martin Luther King Jr. when speaking about wearing a mask while unvaccinated
I have no words.
Aaron Rodgers quotes MLK while explaining why he doesn’t comply with NFL covid protocol by wearing a mask at team facilities pic.twitter.com/iq7wsZuu4M
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) November 5, 2021
Again, there’s so much here in which he basically implied he was a pariah as an unvaccinated individual:
Aaron Rodgers “I have to wear a yellow wristband at all times basically shouting to the world that I’m unclean and unvaxxed” pic.twitter.com/m6mbgqv7Ax
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) November 5, 2021
5
He expressed concerns about fertility
Per the CDC: “Professional medical organizations serving people of reproductive age, including adolescents, emphasize that there is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccination causes a loss of fertility.”
Here’s what he said:
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers: "The next great chapter of my life is being a father." Says he was concerns that the vaccine would make him sterile were a factor in his decision.
"I'm not some sort of anti-vaxx, flat-earther."
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) November 5, 2021
"Currently no evidence shows that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems (problems trying to get pregnant) in women or men."https://t.co/E6x5ejOrtX https://t.co/m5WD1cNHNd
— Ben Fischer (@BenFischerSBJ) November 5, 2021
6
He was pretty open about how he felt about the NFL protocols
So many quotes, and you have to wonder how the NFL will react:
"The organization & my teammates knew exactly what my status was.. there was nothing that was hidden. I have followed every single protocol & a lot of the protocols aren't based on science at all" ~@AaronRodgers12#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/AZ6kjBrBvc
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 5, 2021
Rodgers said he didn't agree to any of the NFL's protocols or policies. He doesn't mention that they were negotiated and agreed to by the NFLPA, for whom he is a player rep.
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) November 5, 2021
"They sent in this stooge early in training camp to shame us for being 19th in the league in vaccination rate"
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) November 5, 2021
Aaron Rodgers just said he presented his research to the NFL. "They thought I was a quack."
— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) November 5, 2021
Packers QB @AaronRodgers12 on the NFL's rules: "I don't think many of the policies are rooted in science." And as for how he took the league's response to his appeal …
"I think they thought I was a quack."
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) November 5, 2021
Aaron Rodgers falls on sword for the press conference violations, but says it's the only protocol he's broken, because the press conference rules, he says, "make no sense to me" (b/c reporters are masked, distanced from him).
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) November 5, 2021
For more information, read USA TODAY’s “Fact check: 6 of the most persistent misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccines.”
