I’m just going to include the video here for anyone who is interested. This is a sports website so I am not going to comment on it either way as it regards the vaccine, but it is a sports-related story so here it is:

I will, however, make a few points and predictions about this honestly jaw-dropping interview:

• This is not a commentary against or in favor of the vaccine in any way, so don’t take it that way, but: I don’t understand why so many people in the sports media are so positively irate over Rodgers’ comments here. And not just the sports media but tons more random people on social media–they’re absolutely livid about what Rodgers said. But I don’t get it. Aaron Rodgers’ decision does not affect these people in any way. Not one bit. I could understand it if you’re a Packers fan and you feel this hurts the team, but these people who are absolutely furious with Rodgers right now–his decision not to get the vaccine does not affect their lives in any way at all.
• Aaron Rodgers becomes the highest-selling jersey in the NFL. This one seems highly likely to me. A lot of the people against vaccines and for Trump and all that will rally around Rodgers big-time. Rodgers said in the interview he doesn’t care about politics, he’s not trying to advocate for one side, he’s not going to be appearing on Fox News or CNN, this is just about him and making the best decision for his health, period. But that won’t stop people from holding him up as a political figure and a hero. The Trump supporters just became huge Packer fans.
• Conspiracy Theory: the NFL is actually happy about this. For one, it generates controversy and gets people talking about the league. Any publicity is good publicity. The NFL loves drama and debate. Now they may fine or even suspend Rodgers for his comments because he was severely critical of league policy, but I think deep down the NFL loves this out of him.
• Another reason the NFL is secretly happy about this: it will bring Republicans back to the NFL. Not that they all tuned out, of course, but a good number of them did. There are a lot of people on the right who have tuned out of the NFL over the past few years due to the Kaepernick stuff and the BLM stuff last year, but this has the potential to bring them right back into the fold. Aaron Rodgers will be their guy. They’ll root for him to win the Super Bowl as a big fuck you to the perceived-liberal and corporate suit Roger Goodell. It’s almost WWE in nature: Goodell assumes the role of corporate CEO villain like Vince McMahon (obviously not nearly as explicitly), while Rodgers is the fan favorite, man of the people, etc. rebelling against the NFL’s “draconian” (as Rodgers put it) rules and vaccine mandates in general. It’s a great storyline for the NFL to have. It sounds crazy, but think about it from an entertainment perspective. And that’s what the NFL is at the end of the day: an entertainment business. This will probably boost the NFL’s ratings.
• I have only Rodgers’ words to back this statement up but I believe it to be true: Aaron Rodgers isn’t the only one who feels this way in the NFL. I’d wager a lot of people in the NFL feel this way–players, staff, coaches, and probably some front office, maybe even owners. I don’t think Rodgers would come out and say this stuff if he wasn’t backed up by the majority of his teammates, his coaches and the league in general. The NFL is full of red-blooded alpha males. They are not exactly the most pro-vaccine, terrified-of-Covid people in the country. I think Aaron Rodgers is speaking for a lot of players in the NFL here, and not just the unvaccinated. Many will never show their support publicly, but privately I’m sure he’s getting tons of messages and DMs saying “Thank you” or “I’m with you 100%, man.”

Those are some of my thoughts.

I think this is going to become one of the most controversial stories of the year in the NFL by a mile. It will probably even spill over into the political world, too. Aaron Rodgers is a high-profile person in this country who at this point is not just a football star but a celebrity in general. Everyone knows who he is. This is the league MVP, after all.

To my knowledge, there hasn’t been any person of Rodgers’s stature and celebrity to come forward like this and talk about why he isn’t getting the vaccine. This is pretty unprecedented stuff.