Aaron Rodgers, love him or hate him, has been more outspoken this season than in any before. For some, it has been enjoyable to learn more about their favorite quarterback. For others, it has ruffled feathers. Perhaps the most controversial of Rodgers’ opinions over the past year has been his stance on vaccine mandates and COVID protocols. Recently, Rodgers used his platform to return fire at President Joe Biden for his his statement that this pandemic is one of the unvaccinated.
President Biden’s Comments
The comments that Aaron Rodgers addressed were made over four months ago. In a speech concerning COVID and the vaccine, President Biden repeatedly expressed his wish for more Americans to be vaccinated. Specifically, President Biden stated:
“This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. And it’s caused by the fact that despite America having an unprecedented and successful vaccination program, despite the fact that for almost five months free vaccines have been available in 80,000 different locations, we still have nearly 80 million Americans who have failed to get the shot.”
The President went on and railed against state and federal lawmakers who spread distrust for the COVID vaccine. Additionally, Biden cited statistics that the majority of hospital patients who have COVID-19 are unvaccinated.
Biden’s stance became personal towards Aaron Rodgers when the President visited Kentucky. While visiting the victims of the tornados, he told one Packers fan he desired for Rodgers to get the vaccine. This occurred in December.
Aaron Rodgers Fires Back
On Friday, in a feature on ESPN, Aaron Rodgers fired back at the President. ESPN’s Kevin Van Valkenberg had a 28-minute phone interview with Rodgers. In this interview, they discussed many of the controversies that surrounded the MVP-favorite this year. These included his choice of words in the preseason regarding his vaccination status. Additionally, his friendship with Joe Rogan was discussed.
Among those things discussed were some choice words for the President from Aaron Rodgers. Not only did Rodgers criticize President Biden calling the pandemic one “of the unvaccinated,” but also expressed distrust in the CDC. He also piled onto a large amount of criticism from all over the country of the President’s public speaking abilities.
The full feature can be found here.
The NFL Changes COVID Protocols for Playoffs
According to a report by USA Today, the NFL and NFLPA have agreed to do away with daily testing for unvaccinated players. This is a big development for the Packers and Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers’ 90-day window of not having to be tested was set to expire.
This, of course, reminds many of the false report made by Boomer Esiason live on his show. Esiason, citing a source in Rodgers’ inner circle, said that the MVP quarterback would boycott the Super Bowl over the NFL’s COVID policies. In fact, he had told Jordan Love to “Be ready.” What followed was a classic social media response from Rodgers, Love, and Kurt Benkert.
For More Great Wisconsin Sports Content
Follow me on Twitter at @theotherAdams14 and follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in Wisconsin sports, click here!
