Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has some thinking to do following his team’s early NFL postseason exit this past weekend. Does he retire, does he give it one more season in Green Bay? Or does he follow in Tom Brady’s footsteps and close the book on the team that drafted him and made him the quarterback he is today and play in another city?
Rodgers talked about answering those questions as part of what appeared to be his final interview of the season on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday. But, of course, what a lot of people tuned in for was to hear Rodgers’ response to the reaction of social media and sports media following the loss.
He spent plenty of time in the spotlight for various COVID-related reasons, and for that, many referred to him as “Throw Rogan,” “QAaron,” and “Covidiot.” Add to that the celebrations for the San Francisco 49ers going into Lambeau Field on a cold winter’s night and upsetting the top seed in the NFC.
“You knew this was in the mix,” Rodgers said. “There were a ton of people tuning in, rooting against us for one reason and one reason only. It’s because of my vaccination status, and them wanting to see us lose so they could pile on and enjoy and revel in the fact that my vaccination status was some sort of reason why we haven’t had success in the playoffs.”
He added that he knew he’d eventually have to say something about whether or not he was vaccinated and alluded to the fact that he would catch heat for not getting the shot. Still, Rodgers said a lot of the negativity surrounding the vaccine and his status is rooted in fear and that the media is a factor in that fear running rampant.
“There’s so much fear around this,” he said. “There’s fear of your health, fear of the loss of money, there’s fear of not being able to provide for your family, there’s fear of death for sure, fear of sickness, and the media plays a big role in that. The fear porn that is put out day after day I think causes a lot of strife and stress for people.
“I think because I don’t watch the news, or don’t subscribe to the same type of mainstream narrative at times, and have decided to take my own personal health and responsibility for my health in my hands, and did my research, and looked into things, and also my associations with other people who have done similar things, there’s anger kind of thrown my way,” he added. “But the root of that, I think, is fear. So I do have empathy for those people who are caught in this fear state around COVID that continues to be pushed and furthered by media and by some of the narratives that are out there. I do have empathy for that.”
As for the social media detractors, Rodgers said he’s tuned all of that stuff out. But in retrospect, Rodgers acknowledged the things he’s said publicly did drive a wedge between people when ultimately that’s not what the goal was.
“I know what I’ve never wanted to be is a divisive or polarizing figure on this,” he said. “I’ve wanted to encourage people and inspire people to think for themselves to take their health in their own hands. To realize that this is a pandemic of health, not the unvaccinated, a pandemic of health… to make healthier decisions and to think about what they’re eating and what they’re putting in their bodies.
“That their health is their own responsibility as much as mine is my own responsibility. And hopefully I’ve inspired people… But I hope people continue to turn off the fear and do their own research and take care of themselves and their own health. And hopefully we can move past a lot of this and actually connect instead of continue to divide.”
