Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is unfazed by Twitter trolls taking jabs at him about about his views on COVID-19 vaccines.
During his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” Tuesday, the host asked Rodgers if he’s ever had the urge to confront “some of these blue check marks that are attacking” him on social media.
“Well most of these people have absolutely no following, and they come after me and they have zero retweets or likes,” Rodgers, who is not vaccinated against the virus, said while laughing. “They have less than double-digit likes and retweets so it does zero for me to interact with these people.
“When did Freedom of Speech — when did we lose the ability to respect somebody’s opinion?… My thoughts are just my own opinion on this matter [COVID-19].”
Rodgers claimed that behind “closed doors” many of his dubious COVID theories are being championed by some NFL teams.
“I do know behind the scenes, this is 100 percent true, there are many teams who are using or recommending a lot of the same treatments that I got for their players,” Rodgers said. “There are treatments being talked about behind closed doors, but publicly, I don’t understand why we can’t talk about treatments.”
When McAfee warned Rodgers that he would “probably” get backlash on social media about his comments, the quarterback replied, “That’s fine. I’m sharing my opinion. I’m not a doctor and that’s what people hammer me most about. But I consulted with a number of doctors.
“I’m not some uneducated person that’s throwing stuff out there. You wanna rip on me because I took horse dewormer and whatever else you want to talk about — that’s fine. But I also got better in 48 hours and I had symptoms.”
Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 in November — months after he told reporters in an August press conference that he is “immunized” against the virus.
Days after his positive diagnosis, Rodgers confirmed that he is unvaccinated while on McAfee’s show.
At the time, Rodgers said he had consulted podcast host Joe Rogan for advice about treatments for COVID-19 — and noted that he had been taking “monoclonal antibodies, ivermectin, zinc, Vitamin C and D, and HCQ.”
On Tuesday, Rodgers questioned why the public can’t have a “healthy debate without “calling people anti-vaxxers,” among other things.
“You want to talk about it in a civil way, respectful of each other’s opinions. Oh, no you’re just going to cancel me because I’m not a doctor and I’m some dumb jock and I haven’t done any research on my own? Well those things are false,” he said.
This wasn’t the first time Rodgers referenced “cancel culture” and clapped back at COVID critics on “The Pat McAfee Show” this season.
Last Tuesday, he modeled the message on a sweatshirt. Before that, he expressed his frustration about “cancel culture” in October and November appearances on the show.
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