'Blatant lies': Aaron Rodgers slams 'woke mob' in wild vaccine rant
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has angrily denied he lied about being vaccinated during a lengthy rant in which he sought to "set the record straight" about his controversial situation.
Rodgers made his first public comments in the United States on Friday, two days after testing positive for COVID-19.
DISTURBING: New details emerge in fatal crash involving NFL star
'CREEPY': Uproar over icon's remark about Gisele Bundchen
The Packers quarterback made his usual appearance on 'The Pat McAfee Show', where he spoke about the "woke mob" and "cancel culture" while explaining why he has not been vaccinated.
McAfee gave Rodgers an open floor to start the discussion and he began by blaming critics for coming at him.
"I realise I'm in the crosshairs of the woke mob right now," Rodgers said.
"So before my final nail gets put in my cancel culture casket, I think I would like to set the record straight on so many of the blatant lies that are out there about myself."
Rodgers said he did plenty of research on the vaccines, but discovered he is allergic to something in the mRNA (Pfizer and Moderna) vaccines.
He said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine became his only option, but when that got pulled in April because of blood clotting issues, he sought other treatments based on conversations with his medical team.
He did not go into detail on that treatment plan.
The 37-year-old asked the Packers to "accept my immunisation status as under their vaccination protocol," adding that he didn't believe the league's protocols were based on science.
Rodgers said he started to feel sick Tuesday night and tested positive Wednesday. He said he "didn't feel great" Thursday, but was better on Friday.
During his wild rant on the 'The Pat McAfee Show', Rodgers claimed the media was "on a witch hunt" to identify which players were not vaccinated.
Aaron Rodgers denies lying about being vaccinated
Much of the furore surrounds Rodgers' initial press conference when he told reporters he was "immunised", which was largely taken to assume he was vaccinated.
He reporters at the news conference where Rodgers said he was "immunised" and insisted that if any reporter asked a follow-up question, he would have explained he's "not an anti-vaxx, flat earther," but a "critical thinker."
“It wasn’t some sort of ruse or lie, it was the truth,” Rodgers said.
"My desire to immunize myself was what was best for my body & that's why this is so important to me. I made a decision that was in my best interest for my body.. I'm not telling somebody to get vaccinated or not get vaccinated" ~@AaronRodgers12#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/AyUkhyvuzC
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 5, 2021
“I believe strongly in bodily autonomy and the ability to make choices for your body, not to 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."
Rodgers, who has been tested daily as part of NFL protocols for the unvaccinated, came up positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday.
He said he didn't feel well on Thursday but was much better on Friday.
Rodgers can't rejoin the Packers for 10 days, meaning he misses Sunday's game at Kansas City.
He must submit a negative test to return to the team on November 13.
Rodgers also told McAfee he has concerns about potential fertility issues had he taken one of the vaccinations, despite medical professionals agreeing that vaccinations are safe for pregnant women.
The NFL coronavirus protocols were developed in conjunction with Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and independent infectious disease experts.
with agencies
Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.