Sports
Reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers Test Positive for Covid
Aaron Rodgers the quarterback for the NFL’s Green Bay Packers has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not play against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, according to ESPN.
Rodgers has stayed unvaccinated since the start of the NFL season, as first reported by NFL Network.
Rodgers was placed on the league’s covid reserve list along with Green Bays’ cornerback Isaac Yiadom on Wednesday. The NFL said it would look into how the Packers have handled their Covid-19 protocols.
Under the NFL covid-19 protocols, if Aaron Rodgers tests positive and is unvaccinated, he must quarantine for a minimum of 10 days. He will not be able to return until Nov. 13.
Rodgers, 37, had an alternative treatment prior to the start of training camp. He then petitioned the NFL for that treatment to allow him to be considered the same as someone who received one of the approved vaccinations.
After a lengthy back-and-forth, the NFL, the players union and an infectious disease doctor approved by both parties heard Rodgers’ case for an exemption. He ruled that Rogers would not get the same consideration and would be deemed unvaccinated.
Aaron Rogers followed NFL protocols
Green Bay Packers sources said Rodgers follows masking protocols while interacting with players and coaches inside the team’s headquarters. However, he doesn’t wear a mask while in the media auditorium during his weekly and postgame news conferences.
Green Bay has put other unvaccinated players on Zoom instead of at in-person media sessions.
The NFL on Wednesday said there were “aware of the current situation with Green Bay” and would be reviewing the matter with Green Bay’s management.
Aaron Rodgers is the reigning NFL MVP, he said in August that he was “immunized” when asked about his vaccination status.
“You know, there’s a lot of conversation around immunization, around the National Football League, and a lot of players who have made statements and not made statements, owners who have made statements,” Rodgers said at the time. “There are players in the NFL who haven’t been vaccinated. I think it’s a personal decision.
I’m not going to judge those guys. There are guys that have been vaccinated and still contracted Covid. It’s an interesting issue that I think we’re going to see played out the entire NFL season.
Meanwhile, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Wednesday he would not comment on any player or coach’s vaccination status. He was asked whether Aaron Rodgers’ use of the word “immunized” may have been misleading.
“That’s a great question for Aaron,” LaFleur said. “I’m not going to comment on it ask him.”
LaFleur said he did not know if Rodgers was asymptomatic and talked to him only briefly on Wednesday.
