NFL shuts down part of Aaron Rodgers’ COVID-19 vaccine explanation
Among the many claims an unvaccinated Aaron Rodgers spouted concerning COVID-19 vaccines on Friday, one of the easier ones for the league to debunk should be whether he met with an NFL doctor, and whether that doctor offered him some terrible medical information.
The Green Bay Packers quarterback said this happened, and the league responded strongly that it did not.
During his impassioned rant on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Friday, Rodgers denied misleading the public about being unvaccinated and attempted to explain why he hasn’t received the shot and why “cancel culture” and a “woke mob” are to blame for the backlash he is experiencing. While doing so, he stated that a league doctor he met with told him, “it’s impossible for a vaccinated person to get COVID or spread COVID.”
Rodgers was attempting to show the amount of unknowns with the virus and vaccines as he spread misinformation that apparently was spread to him. The league, though, says this never happened.
“No doctor from the league or the joint NFL-NFLPA infectious disease consultants communicated with the player,” the NFL said in a statement to Pro Football Talk. “If they had, they certainly would have never said anything like that.”
So, not only does the NFL say a league doctor never communicated the incorrect information with Rodgers, it says a league doctor never communicated with Rodgers at all.
Rodgers, who told reporters he was “immunized,” underwent an unspecified homeopathic treatment and petitioned the league for an exemption, arguing he had the antibodies. The league denied his request, and his testing positive this week for the coronavirus means he cannot play in the Packers game against the Chiefs on Sunday.
According to the NFL, Rodgers was offered a conversation with a league doctor, but he did not reach out.