As we all know, COVID-19 is no joke. But, Jake Arrieta decided to make a mockery of the pandemic issues on Wednesday night following a 10-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, telling a reporter to take his mask off. The Chicago Cubs have since decided to place him on unconditional release waivers, via The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma:

This whole situation paired with Arrieta's atrocious 2021 campaign has resulted in the Cubs letting go of the veteran. Arrieta has a 6.88 ERA this season in 20 starts, going 5-11. He definitely hasn't been the ace of the past. After this latest dud and his insensitive comments, the Cubs have cut ties. The righty gave up eight earned runs to the Brew Crew on Wednesday, lasting just four innings in the process before he was yanked.

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At 35 years old, it's unknown if another organization will even been interested in giving Arrieta another chance. He has struggled immensely over the last three seasons, with his lowest ERA in that span being 4.64.

This was the worst possible time for Arrieta to make a joke of COVID-19 in the wake of the Delta Variant, and he unfortunately is now out of a job. Nevertheless, Cubs fans will be thankful for what he brought to the organization, helping them win a long-awaited World Series title in 2016.