Earlier this week it was announced that Aaron Rodgers had tested positive for COVID-19, and would miss the Week 9 game against the Chiefs. This wasn’t a major shock as players have been dealing with the virus all season long, especially on the Packers.
The biggest piece of news came later when it was confirmed that Rodgers was not vaccinated. Rodgers claimed to have been “immunized” all summer long, but it was a blatant lie that he was happy to repeat when asked.
The NFL has announced that they are investigating Rodgers and the Packers for breaking COVID-19 protocols, but that’s not enough. Investigating is one thing, but the NFL needs to dish out some serious punishment this time around.
Unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic is not going away anytime soon, especially if players are still choosing to go unvaccinated. This goes further than that though, as Rodgers and the Packers seemed to be breaking protocols in the public on several occasions.
The NFL loves to dish out punishments and fines for stupid reasons, but this time it would be justifiable. This investigation shouldn’t take long to complete and the NFL world will be watching to see what the punishment is.
As a Bears fan, I vote for a lifetime ban for Mr. Rodgers.
Rodgers Openly Mocked the Policy
Not only did Aaron Rodgers choose to remain unvaccinated by he mocked and completely ignored the COVID-19 protocols. It’s unclear if the league was aware that he was unvaccinated this entire time, but Rodgers had members of the media and NFL fans fooled.
Rodgers was unmasked on the sideline during the preseason, and he has been doing his news conferences without a mask on. It’s unclear how many other times Rodgers broke protocol, but he continues to believe that he is above the law.
It’s time for the league to make an example out of Aaron Rodgers, similarly to what they have done with Tom Brady in the past. This whole Rodgers shtick has been getting old for months and this latest chapter in the saga makes it all worse.
Vaccine Requirement is Needed
There is only one way to truly stop this COVID-19 madness in the NFL and that is to require every player receive the vaccine. The league has already taken a hard stance for coaches and other gameday personnel, but it is the players that are actually the ones on the field.
Several teams have made it clear that they have let coaches go because they refused to get the vaccine, and players are going unsigned that haven’t been vaccinated as well. Make it a non-issue by requiring every player in the NFL to get the shot and we can be done with it.
Players shouldn’t get a free pass in this situation as they are clearly putting other teammates or members of the coaching staff in danger. Require the vaccine immediately and we can stop hearing about COVID-19 each week.
