White House press secretary Jen Psaki took a swipe at Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Friday on his COVID-19 vaccine predicament.
A reporter asked Psaki what she would say to celebrities, such as Rodgers, promoting “dubious alternatives to vaccines.”
“You know how we feel about misinformation,” Psaki said. “We’re against it.”
Rodgers, a 37-year-old who is the reigning NFL MVP, and his team were fined by the league this week for breaking COVID-19 rules.
He drew controversy after testing positive for COVID-19 and the subsequent revelation that he was not vaccinated against the virus. Rodgers led people to believe he was in August when he said he had been “immunized” from the virus.
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“I made some comments that people might have felt were misleading,” Rodgers said on the Pat McAfee Show. “To anybody that felt misled by those comments, I take full responsibility for those comments.”
Rodgers says he decided not to get vaccinated because he is allergic to one of the ingredients found in both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines and was worried about the side effects of the Johnson & Johnson jab. In addition, the quarterback said he consulted with podcaster Joe Rogan, who has been outspoken against vaccines and revealed in September he treated himself with ivermectin, which the FDA has not approved for treating COVID-19, after contracting the virus. Rodgers also blasted the NFL’s treatment of unvaccinated players as “draconian” and “not based on science.”
Another celebrity, Gene Simmons, the frontman of KISS, said people who are not vaccinated are evil, regardless of whether they play football.
“If you’re willing to walk among us unvaccinated, you are an enemy,” Simmons said. “I don’t care if you play football or not — stay away from evil people who don’t care about your health.”
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Other people have called Rodgers a “liar” for his contradictory statements. Radio host Howard Stern called for Rodgers to be thrown out of the NFL. Mike Fisher, a former professional hockey player, said he stands with Rodgers in an Instagram post last week.
Following an investigation after Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19, the NFL informed the Packers and Rodgers of their decision on Tuesday. The Packers were hit with a $300,000 fine and Rodgers a $14,650 penalty after a video showed he had attended a Halloween party with teammates while maskless and unvaccinated.
Rodgers missed this past weekend’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs but could return for Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.
