Aaron Rodgers Says Vaccine Status Had People Rooting Against Packers
Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers bowed out of the NFL Playoffs to the delight of many, according to Rodgers himself.
During his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" Tuesday, the 38-year-old claimed that people were rooting against him and the Packers due to his vaccination status. Rodgers has been the most outspoken unvaccinated athlete and has blasted the NFL multiple times for treating unvaccinated players differently than vaccinated ones.
"There were a ton of people tuning in, rooting against us for one reason and one reason only: it’s because of my vaccination status and them wanting to see us lose so they could pile on and enjoy and revel in the fact that my vaccination status was some sort of reason we haven’t had the success in the playoffs or whatever it might be. Some sort of correlation," Rodgers said.
"I think to have the perspective of the entire year dealing with this and knowing that this was coming down the pipe at some point with the amount of guys that did get COVID throughout the year. I knew there was a possibility that I would have to make comments about my own personal status and possibly be in the fire from it all."
As OutKick's Bobby Burack relayed, ESPN play-by-play man Mark Jones appeared to be in that camp.
"Following the Packers’ loss to the 49ers, Jones shared and liked several tweets tying Aaron Rodgers to QAnon, Donald Trump and a half-horse/half-human," Burack wrote.
Rodgers previously said during the season that he believed MVP voters wouldn't vote for him due to his vaccination status. NFL MVP voter Hub Arkush backed that claim up earlier in January, when he called Rodgers a "bad guy" and said he and others would not vote for him. Arkush walked that claim back shortly thereafter.
Some would say Rodgers has become a divisive figure over his candidness, something he says he takes full responsibility for.
"I think, if anything, to sum up this long answer, I realize that I've been divisive this season by my vaccination status and my willingness to talk about it and to talk about the research that I’ve done and my own opinions and it’s part of it," Rodgers said. "I take accountability for that and I never wanted to be a divisive, polarizing figure on this. I wanted to encourage people and inspire people to think for themselves.
"To take their health into their own hands. To realize this is a pandemic of health, not the unvaccinated. A pandemic of health. And to encourage and inspire people to take their health into their own hands and to make healthier decisions and to think about what they’re eating and what they’re putting in their body and that their health is their own responsibility as much as mine is my own responsibility."
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