Aaron Rodgers on Friday spoke publicly for the primary time since information broke that he was not vaccinated in opposition to the coronavirus and had examined constructive, lashing out on the information media and claiming he was a sufferer of the “woke mob” and “cancel culture.”

Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers’ beginning quarterback and the N.F.L.’s reigning Most Valuable Player, confirmed he examined constructive for the virus after the information rocketed across the sports activities world on Wednesday. He will miss Green Bay’s sport on Sunday in opposition to Kansas City and, like all unvaccinated gamers within the league who take a look at constructive, should quarantine for 10 days and take a look at unfavourable with a view to return. Vaccinated gamers can return inside 24 hours after they take a look at unfavourable twice, in keeping with protocols collectively agreed upon by the N.F.L. and N.F.L. Players’ Association.

Rodgers’ feedback got here on The Pat McAfee Show, a program he attends weekly. During the prolonged interview, Rodgers advocated for private alternative for individuals’s our bodies and criticized vaccine mandates.

“I’m not some sort of anti-vax, flat-earther,” Rodgers mentioned. “I believe strongly in bodily autonomy and the ability to make choices for your body, not to have to acquiesce to some sort of woke culture or crazed individuals who say you have to do something.”

Rodgers in August instructed reporters throughout coaching camp that he had been “immunized” in opposition to the virus, a time period that the journalists didn’t press additional. On Friday, he mentioned he didn’t need to take the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines as a result of he had an allergy to an ingredient. He was additionally hesitant in regards to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as a result of the Food and Drug Administration suggest to briefly pause the corporate’s shot within the spring because of rare instances of blood clots. He additionally mentioned he was cautious of potential results on fertility, a concept that almost all medical consultants have mentioned is fake.

In session with medical advisers, Rodgers mentioned he started an immunization course of that the league didn’t embody in its vaccination choices. The quarterback petitioned the N.F.L. to approve it — and mentioned he gathered over 500 pages of analysis — however was denied.

Rodgers mentioned he adopted most protocols for unvaccinated gamers, aside from sporting a masks throughout his weekly information conferences. He additionally attended a Halloween get together maskless with different individuals, one other violation of the protocols.

Unvaccinated N.F.L. gamers are topic to extra stringent necessities inside and out of doors of group services. They usually are not supposed to go away lodges when touring for video games, they work out individually within the weight room, and can’t use the sauna or eat with teammates. Rodgers mentioned he was additionally pressured to put on a yellow wristband to establish his standing.

“Some of the rules are not based in science at all,” Rodgers mentioned. “They’re based purely in trying to out and shame people.”

“The great MLK said, ‘You have a moral obligation to object to unjust rules and rules that make no sense,’” he added, paraphrasing the civil rights chief Martin Luther King Jr.

Davante Adams, the Packers’ main receiver, and defensive coordinator Joe Barry examined constructive for the virus and missed final Thursday’s sport in opposition to the Arizona Cardinals. The earliest Rodgers may probably be accessible is Green Bay’s Week 10 sport in opposition to the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 14. Jordan Love, the group’s first-round decide in 2020, will begin in Rodgers’s place Sunday in opposition to Kansas City.

The league mentioned in an announcement Wednesday that it could evaluate the Packers’ dealing with of protocols. “The primary responsibility for enforcement of the Covid protocols within club facilities rests with each club,” N.F.L. spokesman Brian McCarthy mentioned. “Failure to properly enforce the protocols has resulted in discipline being assessed against individual clubs in the past.”



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