For the Green Bay Packers fans who “get it,” it must be difficult to root for the human being that is Aaron Rodgers. The face of the franchise that they love so much is just so easy to dislike. He’s the new, individual version of the New York Yankees, L.A. Lakers, New England Patriots, Duke and Notre Dame combined. Except he just hasn’t won as much as the aforementioned teams have.
His off-the-field persona has gotten to be so bizarre and unlikable that now he’s now basically on par with his predecessor, Brett Favre, a man who literally scamming money from poor people. Off the field, both are popular figures among the anti-science crowd in America.
And while Aaron Rodgers can certainly sling that pigskin, and lead his team to victories, he doesn’t know much about basic public health and safety. There is a reason people call Aaron Rodgers “Throw Rogan.”
He lied about not getting vaccinated, showed no remorse about doing so, and didn’t understand (or at least pretended like he didn’t understand) why so many people in this country hated him. As for all his comments about vaccines, his junk science garbage is easily disputed.
The CDC study found that in a group of 1.2 million people who were fully vaccinated between December 2020 and October 2021, 36 of them had a death associated with COVID-19—and that of those 36 people, 28, or about 78%, had at least four of eight risk factors.
Never gets old.
Stats don't lie.
Aaron Rodgers has as many NFC Title Game wins as this man, Rex Grossman:#SFvsGB #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/1mIK2svZcH— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) January 23, 2022
While he described himself as not being “anti-vax,” he also went on to state several reasons why he believes getting vaccinated is a bad idea. He claims his protection against the deadly virus comes from substances a right-leaning podcast host advised him to use, including the horse medication ivermectin.
“I’ve been taking monoclonal antibodies, ivermectin, zinc, vitamin C and D, HCQ (Hydroxychloroquine- the drug that Trump so infamously advocated for) … and I feel pretty incredible,” Rodgers once said to a talk radio show.
So with that in mind, it’s pretty wild to consistently see the mainstream national media producing all of these feel-good, puff pieces on him.
— The Tomfoolery of Professor John Frink (@Frustrated_Fan) January 23, 2022
Rodgers has willingly exposed himself as a conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxer. Needless to say, these positions will not get you a lot of new fans and in America these days. Regardless of how exceptional he is at playing the game of football.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.