Rodgers admits he misled people on status, stands by covid remarks

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has made another appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show”, where he admits to misleading people about his vaccination status. But he says he stands by the comments he made four days before in the same show, including why he refuses to get vaccinated against covid-19.

Rodgers' controversial interview

Rodgers previously appeared on the show which airs on YouTube and SiriusXM, after he was ruled out for week 9 after testing positive for covid-19. In that interview he confirmed that had not received the coronavirus vaccine, and questioned its effectiveness. He also said he had taken Ivermectin, which is used to treat scabies and parasites.

The star quarterback's opinions on pandemic-related issues caught him some flak from the public. It also cost him his partnership with Prevea Health, which encourages peoples to get vaccinated.

Rodgers: I misled people

On Tuesday’s show, Rodgers started off the interview with the former Indianapolis Colts punter by saying he acknowledged that he made comments that people “might have felt were misleading”.

“I do realize that I am a role model to a lot of people," he said. “To anybody who felt misled by those comments, I take full responsibility for those comments.” He did not specify exactly which remarks he was referring to.

Later on in the interview, however, the 37-year-old admitted that he had misled people about his vaccination status, instead of simply stating that people “felt misled” by what he had said.

Rodgers had said in August that he was “immunized” when asked if he was vaccinated.

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Rodgers: I stand by my comments

Despite this latest acknowledgment, Rodgers says he stands by his comments.

“I shared an opinion that is polarizing, I get it. And I misled some people about my status, which I take full responsibility of those comments. But in the end I have to stay true to who I am and what I’m about, and I stand behind the things that I said. And I have a ton of empathy for people who have been going through the worst part of this pandemic, which has affected all of us in different ways.”

Rodgers missed Sunday’s 13-7 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs since testing positive for coronavirus. As he is required by NFL guidelines to isolate for at least 10 days, the earliest he could return to the team is Saturday, just a day before the game against the Seattle Seahawks.

After the isolation period is done, the signal caller needs to be free of symptoms to be cleared for play. If he exhibits symptoms, he would need to show two negative results conducted at least 24 hours apart.

The Packers are thus prepared to start with back-up quarterback Jordan Love for the second week in a row. The team hopes to bounce back after their seven-game winning streak was broken in Week 9’s game.