Aaron Rodgers is set to go down in history as one of the greatest quarterbacks to have ever picked up a football. As a matter of fact, he's already earned that distinction at this point in his career. All the accolades he has amassed in what has been an iconic tenure with the Green Bay Packers serve is a clear testament to this fact.
Recently, however, Rodgers has been heavily criticized for his stance against the COVID-19 vaccine. The Packers superstar is one of, if not the most prominent player in the league that has been against the vaccine. Well, he isn't exactly an anti-vaxxer, but he has refused to get vaccinated. This is despite the fact that he's already battled through the delta variant. In fact, his bout against the virus has only fortified his stance about not getting vaccinated.
Rodgers recently went on the Pat McAfee Show and for the reigning league MVP, it was an opportunity to express his thoughts on all this. As it turns out, Rodgers had a lot of things to say as he did his best to explain his side of the coin.
One of the first things on the Packers QB's plate was alternative treatments for COVID. Rodgers himself used such treatments during his bout with the coronavirus and based on his own testimony, these aided in his speedy recovery process:
“I think one of my issues, and I've brought this up so many times, one, they don't talk about the fact that people are getting better using these things. That's fine, you don't want to talk about that,” Rodgers said. “But how come in a league where we're seeing with 51 guys on the list yesterday, there's still zero conversation, at least publicly, around treatment options for people that test positive.”
Rodgers then went on to completely question the whole nature of modern-day science in a sweeping statement that will definitely get more than a few eyebrows raised:
“If science can't be questioned, it's not science anymore, it's propaganda,” Rodgers claimed.
“When did science become this blind agreement and then not having any debate over what can actually cure people and work for people? That doesn't make sense to me.”
It is clear that the Packers star has a lot on his mind about all this. Rodgers has been lambasted by several outlets for his unconventional stance and apparently, he's spent a lot of time thinking about these things. The 38-year-old made it abundantly clear that he's not against the vaccine, per se. It's just that, based on his own personal research, he's come to the conclusion that the vaccine just isn't for him:
“At the core is I that I don't have a problem if somebody's vaccinated,” he said. “It's your body, your choice. You made a decision and you followed what was in your best interest. And I researched and I have other issues. Talking bout my allergies. … But I made a decision that was the best interest of my body. And that's what it should be. There should be the freedome to choose what's in your best interest. Not mandates sweeping that disregard that people have pre-existing conditions or compromised immune systems, auto-immune diseases, or allergies to ingredients in the vaccine. That puts you in a whole different category. And that should be okay.
“What I don't understand is vaccinated people blaming unvaccinated people because the vaccine that they took to avoid getting the virus didn't stop them from getting the virus.”
Rodgers then went on to explain the process he took in order to come to his decision. He recognizes all the hate that's been thrown in his direction because of his controversial stance, and all he wants to say is that he's done his research:
“I'm just sharing my opinion. I'm not a doctor, I get it. That's what people hammer me most about,” Rodgers said. “But I consulted with a number of dcotors — MD's, naturpaths, homeopathic doctors — and figured out what's best for me. I'm not some uneducated person.”
Despite the fact that the Packers star has remained civil throughout this ordeal, it is also clear that all the criticism has been frustrating for him, to say the least. Rodgers could not help but clap back at some of his haters by taking a shot at their social media credentials:
“Well most of these people have absolutely no following and they come after me,” Rodgers said. “And there's zero retweets or likes. I mean less than double-digit likes or rewteets. It does zero for me to interact with these people.
“My thoughts are just my own opinion on this matter. Let's have a healthy debate. You believe what you believe, I believe what I believe, we might not change our thoughts. But how come we can't have a healthy dialogue without name-calling, and mud-slinging, and calling people anti-vaxxers. … You're just gonna cancel me because I'm not a doctor and I'm some dumb jock and I haven't done any research on my own. Those things are false.”
When talking about the actions taken by the league to address the current COVID outbreak, Rodgers did give the NFL some credit. However, he also decided to take a shot at the league for purposely putting unvaccinated individuals like himself in a totally bad light:
“I think the league has adjusted some of the policies already,” he said. “What I don't understand, though, it makes no sense to me, is to continue to spread this narrative that non-vaccinated players are more dangeours or super spreaders, which obviously has been proven to not be true. So why are non-vaccinated players still held to a different testing standard and ability to come back at a sooner date? … I don't understand why there is still this two-class system that exists in our league.”
All this is admittedly a bit of a challenge to digest. Rodgers had a lot to say and there's no denying that his stance is controversial, to say the least. One thing you cannot take away from the three-time All-Pro quarterback is that he's remained consistent through all this and he's definitely gone out of his way to ensure that he is able to equip himself with as much knowledge as he can.
