Last week, football superstar Aaron Rodgers defended his decision to refuse a COVID-19 vaccine in a defiant interview that dabbled in misinformation and grievance politics.
Rodgers repeatedly criticized public health advice, suggesting that the pandemic’s stubborn persistence is evidence that the vaccines are ineffective. “If the vaccine is so great, how come people are still getting Covid and spreading Covid and unfortunately dying from Covid?” Rodgers asked.
A Texas study released Monday found that the unvaccinated are 20 times more likely than the fully vaccinated to have died of COVID-19 in September.
Rodgers also rejected the NFL rule that requires unvaccinated players to wear masks at press conferences.
“A lot of the protocols aren’t based on science at all,” Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show, where the host failed to challenge his dubious assertions. The World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Mayo Clinic, among others, all agree that mask wearing slows the spread of the virus that has killed over seven million people worldwide.
Rodgers said he didn’t follow NFL protocols for unvaccinated players because he considered himself immunized through an alternative therapy, which he did not describe. He said he presented the alternative therapy to the NFL, but they rejected it.
“I think they thought I was a quack,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers did share details, however, on his source of information.
“I’ve been doing a lot of the stuff that [Joe Rogan] recommended, in his podcasts and on the phone to me,” Rodgers said.
(Rogan once admitted, “I am not a doctor. I am a f—ing moron … I am not a respected source of information even for me.”)
The New York Times reports that Rodgers’ comments have alarmed the scientific community:
“When you’re a celebrity, you are given a platform,” said Dr. Paul A. Offit, the director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “When you choose to do what Aaron Rodgers is doing, which is to use the platform to put out misinformation that could cause people to make bad decisions for themselves or their children, then you have done harm.”
“Aaron Rodgers is a smart guy,” David O’Connor, a virologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Packers fan said to The Times. But, he added, “He’s still vulnerable to the blind side blitz of misinformation.”
At least one sponsor, Preeva Health, cut ties with Rodgers.
“Prevea Health remains deeply committed to protecting its patients, staff, providers and communities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic,” the company wrote in a statement. “This includes encouraging and helping all eligible populations to become vaccinated against COVID-19 to prevent the virus from further significantly impacting lives and livelihoods.”
However, Rodgers’ biggest sponsor, State Farm, called the quarterback a “great ambassador.”
“We don’t support some of the statements that he has made, but we respect his right to have his own personal point of view,” the company said. “Our mission at State Farm is to support safer, stronger communities. To that end, we encourage vaccinations, but respect everyone’s right to make a choice based on their personal circumstances.”
But The Times notes:
On Sunday, just 1.5 percent of all televised State Farm ads included Rodgers, compared to around 25 percent the previous two Sundays, according to data collected by Apex Marketing, which monitors and tracks national media and branding.
Television commentators, including the Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw, also called out Rodgers for potentially putting his teammates in jeopardy and not being honest. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the basketball legend, went one step further. “Aaron Rodgers didn’t just lie he also damaged professional sports,” he wrote.
On Monday, People reported that a source close to Rodgers said he was “upset” by the reaction to his interview:
“He knew some people would disagree with him, but he didn’t know that it would become the s—storm it became. People who he thought were friends are turning on him,” the source tells PEOPLE.
