NFL denies claim of Aaron Rodgers about league doctor, COVID vaccine

On3 imageby:Chandler Vessels11/05/21

ChandlerVessels

The NFL has denied the claim of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who said a league doctor told him it was impossible for players who had received the vaccine to contract or spread COVID-19. Rodgers has come under fire after announcing he is not vaccinated upon catching the virus himself.

He will not play in the Packers’ game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

“No doctor from the league or the joint NFL-NFLPA infectious disease consultants communicated with the player,” the NFL said in a statement issued to Pro Football Talk. “If they had, they certainly would have never said anything like that.”

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, a member of the Green Bay medical staff asked the NFLPA medical director whether an alternative homeopathic treatment would make a player “fully vaccinated.” The NFLPA medical director asked NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills for his opinion on the subject.

A joint expert retained and employed by the league and the union then reviewed the materials, concluding that no peer-reviewed literature could be found to determine that the homeopathic treatment provides appropriate COVID protection. Absent sufficient data to confirm that the proposed homeopathic treatment would work, the treatment was not approved.

Rodgers stated on the Pat McAfee Show that he has received monoclonal antibodies and taken ivermectin — and thanked podcast host Joe Rogan, who has been criticized for his advocacy of discredited Covid treatments.

“Look, I’m not, you know, some sort of anti-vax flat-earther. I am somebody who is a critical thinker,” the Green Bay signal caller said.

“I believe strongly in bodily autonomy and ability to make choices for your body: Not 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.”

Part of the outrage against Rodgers comes from the fact that he appeared to be dishonest regarding his vaccination status in earlier interviews. Before the season started, the quarterback was asked if he had been vaccinated and said he had been “immunized.” In the same answer, he said of unvaccinated players, “I’m not gonna judge those guys,” seeming to imply he had received a shot.

Rodgers insisted Friday he wasn’t lying in that preseason answer, but conceded he didn’t want to answer any more questions about vaccination.

“I wanted it to go away,” he admitted. “Everyone on the squad knew I was not vaccinated. Everyone in the organization knew I wasn’t vaccinated. I wasn’t hiding from anybody. I was trying to minimize and mitigate having this conversation going on and on.”

The quarterback said he has an “allergy to an ingredient that’s in the mRNA vaccines” that are made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

The Packers are on a seven-game winning streak entering Sunday’s contest against Kansas City. With their Aaron Rodgers now in hot water over the COVID vaccine and his comments about a league doctor, they will try to put outside distractions aside in attempt to earn another crucial victory.