NY Jets: Aaron Rodgers’ COVID-19 views continue to incite media

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers continues to ruffle the feathers of the national media

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers hasn’t played a snap since Week 1, but that hasn’t stopped his ability to incite the media.

This week, two media personalities criticized Rodgers’ segment on the Pat McAfee Show for his comments on the COVID-19 vaccine. Sports Illustrated’s Dan Patrick and Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star took shots at Rodgers and Pat McAfee, and didn’t hold back.

In a column that was published on the Indianapolis Star on Wednesday, Doyel called Rodgers’ COVID-19 rhetoric “poison.” He also added this scathing rant to accompany it.

“But every Tuesday, Aaron Rodgers emerges from his rathole and looks around smugly, enjoying the smell of his own (breath), and says something really, really stupid about vaccines,” writes Doyel. “And because we live in this cult of fame, liking and believing and even electing people only because they’re rich or famous, people believe Rodgers. So he’s out there, every Tuesday, saying something that makes us less safe.”

But Doyel isn’t the only media member taking offense to the Jets’ quarterback, and by association, Pat McAfee. Sports Illustrated’s Dan Patrick also thinks the segment with Rodgers, and more importantly, his stance on vaccines, offers a complete lack of journalistic integrity.

Appearing on Sports Illustrated’s SI Media Podcast with Jimmy Traina, Patrick gave his opinion on McAfee’s segment with the Jets quarterback. It’s safe to say that Patrick doesn’t approve.

“Would I like to see him push back? Yeah,” Patrick said to Traina. “If Aaron was on my show, would there be pushback? Yeah. But I was brought up in a different era. I’m 30 years older than Pat McAfee. I came in at CNN doing things where the product was most important, and you had to be a journalist and approach it that way. Pat didn’t. He was a punter. And all of a sudden he’s got a show and he’s making millions of dollars and he’s got Nick Saban and Aaron Rodgers and he’s gonna have them on and he’ll compensate them. Fine, I don’t care.”

Considering Patrick’s harsh words, it does seem to imply he cares at least a little bit.

COVID-19 is a controversial topic for many. Yet for the Jets quarterback, he’s very open about his opinion – on both the vaccines and Dr. Fauci, the former Chief Medical Advisor to the President. The 39-year-old has even offered to debate Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (who appeared in a Pfizer commercial for the COVID-19 vaccine).

Aaron Rodgers throwing haymakers:

“If science is Dr. Fauci, you’re damn right I’m defying science.”
pic.twitter.com/UZA7XtcgxU

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) October 18, 2023

Since Rodgers’ “immunized” comments, the quarterback has been under constant media scrutiny. And if he continues speaking on the subject during his “McAfee” segments, it’s only a matter of time before more critical comments come his way.

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