Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has revealed how he intentionally misled media regarding his vaccination status when he announced he was ‘immunised’ at a press conference.
In August, Rodgers gave a misleading implication that he was ‘immunised’ against Covid, suggesting to fans and reporters that he had received the appropriate vaccinations. He had in fact not received a jab, referring to a doctor-prescribed therapeutic treatment, and reporters simply assumed he was vaccinated.
Rodgers was caught out as his vaccination status was revealed in November when he tested positive for coronavirus and was required to quarantine for 10 days — the minimum amount of time an unvaccinated player is asked to quarantine, per league rules at the time. The NFL have since amended their protocols to reduce quarantine time down to five days to move in line with CDC guidance.
The NFL was aware of Rodgers’ status given he filed for and was denied an exemption. The reigning back-to-back MVP has now revealed how he planned to present his controversial status to the media.
“So I've been ready the entire time for this question and had thought about how I wanted to answer it and I had come to the conclusion I'm going to say, I've been immunised,” Rodgers told Joe Rogan on The Joe Rogan Podcast. “And if there's a follow up, then talk about my process, but thought there's a possibility that I say I'm immunised, maybe they understand what that means.
“Maybe they don't, maybe they follow up. They didn't follow up. So, then I go the season them thinking, some of them, that I was vaccinated, right, because the only follow up they asked was basically asking me to rip on my teammates, like, ‘what do you say to your teammates aren't vaccinated?’ ’Like what kind of example do you feel like you're setting to your teammates are unvaccinated?’ I said ‘hey, it's everybody's own decision with their body.’”
Rodgers was demonised by the media as a result, with plenty of outlets suggesting his decision was selfish and threatened to jeopardise the Packers’ season. Regardless, the 38-year-old is adamant officials within the Packers franchise were aware of his status and situation.
The quarterback’s appeal to the NFL dates back to August 2021. Rodgers added: “There's a lot of talk about I endangered, my teammates, and, you know, I lied to my teammates and my team from day one that I returned, which was July 25, probably, of 2021. They knew where I was at, everybody did. Also, on the side, I would have an appeal going with the NFL. Because I said, Look, here's my health issues. Here's the protocol I went through.
“Here's the research behind him, gave them 500 pages of research, from a number of people that put together case review studies around homeopathy, and immunisations and safety in them, and then also the efficacy of them. And then I had a conversation with the league and the league said, this is when I knew that my appeal was definitely not going to happen.
“Because they said ‘it's not possible for a vaccinated player person to contract or transmit COVID If they've been vaccinated’. And I said, ‘you gotta be kidding me, because I showed up and five people, non-players, five people fully vaccinated are out with COVID. So what are you talking about?’ And he said, ‘you're a conspiracy theorist,’ oh, boy. And I said, ‘no, I just think I'm a realist. I'm just looking at the facts here’.”
Last year, Rodgers apologised for saying he was ‘immunised’ against Covid and reiterated his stance against the jab. He explained he was allergic to an ingredient in the mRNA vaccine, and told Rogan why he opted for an alternative.
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“At the time, I went on the CDC website and it specifically said ‘if you’re allergic to PEG, we do not recommend you get vaccinated with the MRNA vaccinations’,” Rodgers continued. “The only other one available was Johnson and Johnson. That has just got pulled at the time for blood clots.
“So I looked into other options which included an immunisation process through holistic doctor. I researched and talked to probably a dozen different MDs. I found a protocol that I felt like was the best available. This involved a couple month process of taking a diluted strand of the virus. I was doing what the vaccine was supposed to do. It was an oral strand.”
Rodgers starred for the Packers in 2022, throwing for 4,115 yards and 37 touchdowns as Green Bay stormed to the number one seed. However, they crashed out of the playoffs with a disappointing defeat to the San Francisco 49ers at Lambeau Field.
Regardless of his team’s performance, Rodgers claimed his second successive MVP award and officially signed a contract extension which made him the highest paid player in North American sports history on an annual basis. His $50.27 million deal surpassed NBA star Damian Lillard’s $49 million per year contact. Amid speculation he wanted to leave the Packers, Rodgers chose to stay with the franchise that selected him in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft.
