Two days after the news that he tested positive for COVID-19, was not vaccinated, and would be missing Sunday’s game against the Chiefs, Aaron Rodgers told his side of the story.
Rodgers appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show,” speaking for about 15 minutes uninterrupted about all the dynamics that went into his decision not to be vaccinated – and all of his issues with the backlash he has received.
“I realize I’m in the crosshairs of the woke mob right now, so before my final nail gets put in my cancel culture casket, I think I’d like to set the record straight on some of the blatant lies that are out there about myself right now,” Rodgers began.
Rodgers said that he didn’t “lie” during his initial press conference, and there was a “witch hunt” going on in the media over who was unvaccinated. He said his plan was to say that he had been immunized.
“It wasn’t some sort of ruse or lie, it was the truth,” Rodgers said.
Nevertheless, most people who heard his answer at the time assumed he was affirming he had been vaccinated. Rodgers said he would have responded to a follow-up question about being immunized, and that he is not an “anti-vax flat-Earther” but a “critical thinker.”
“I believe strongly in bodily autonomy and the ability to make choices for your body, not to have to acquiesce to some woke culture or crazed group of individuals who say you have to do something. Health is not a one-size fits all for everybody,” Rodgers said.
When asked why he didn’t comply with NFL protocols and wear a mask during press conferences, as unvaccinated players are supposed to do, he quoted Martin Luther King Jr. and railed against a policy that he believed “is not based in science.”
He said he studied the vaccines before making the decision, and claims he was allergic to one of the ingredients in Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines. He said the CDC’s website advises people with allergies against those vaccines not to take them.
He also did not wish to take the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because he heard of friends’ adverse reactions to it, and the fact that it was pulled over blood clotting issues. That is how he arrived at the decision to undergo a multiple-month homeopathic antibody process.
Rodgers said that the NFL was aware of this immunization process, as he was petitioning the league. He said he lost faith he would succeed in his appeal when he had a meeting, and said that a doctor from the league told him that “it was impossible for a vaccinated person to get or spread COVID.”
Rodgers said he was advised by his own doctors that he was more at risk of an adverse event from vaccines than he would have been from COVID-19. He also said that he felt symptoms Tuesday night, tested positive Wednesday and was feeling fine Friday.
Further, Rodgers railed against “coercion and collusion” from the league office about threats not to sign or retain unvaccinated players, especially ones who were deemed dispensable.
Rodgers said that it is a major near-term goal to be a father. He expressed concern that there have not been long-term studies completed on sterilization and fertility. Rodgers is engaged to actress Shailene Woodley.
Rodgers also said that he consulted with Joe Rogan.
“I’ve been doing a lot of stuff that he recommended in his podcasts and on the phone to me, and I’m going to have the best immunity possible now based on the 2.5 million person study from Israel that the people who get COVID and recover have the most robust immunity. I’m thankful for people like Joe stepping up and using their voice,” Rodgers said.
The quarterback also said he is “taking mononuclear antibodies, Ivermectin, zinc, Vitamin C and D, HCQ, and I feel pretty incredible.”