Aaron Rodgers found himself back in familiar territory on the “Not Just Football” podcast, revisiting the COVID vaccine conversation that first sparked a wave of criticism in 2021. The Steelers quarterback brought up the fallout from that episode again, but this time it was Craig Carton who pushed back hard.
Carton didn’t hide his frustration when discussing Rodgers’ return to the subject. “Remember when he said he got vaccinated and he lied about it?”
Carton said on his show. “Half this podcast is about vaccinations, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson.
Big guy, give it a rest. You got it right; I’m not saying you didn’t, but stop, dude.
"That’s not the platform Americans want to hear about anymore. We’ve moved past the vaccine.
You’re the only cat talking about the vaccine, and none of us want to hear it. This is a guy that claims he’s always been misunderstood, the haters have it wrong, he’s the greatest guy on the planet, he’s low maintenance.
Yet here he is seven years later still talking about COVID. Here he is all these years later talking about women who have moved on from him."
Rodgers used the podcast to argue that the treatment of vaccinated and non-vaccinated players was unfair during that stretch. He said the backlash often came down to attacks on his character rather than the point he was trying to make.
"When someone has an argument and all they can ever say is, they attack your character instead of the content of what you're actually saying, you know that you're actually on the right side of things," Rodgers said.
He also revisited the language he used at the time, explaining why he said he was immunized. “When I said I was immunized, it was because that statement alone was the crux of my entire argument and ongoing appeal with the NFL around my vaccination status.
Not to mention the hypocrisy around the treatment of players that were non-vaxxed, the inhumane way that we were treated as secondhand citizens around the facility, the way that we couldn't do anything on the road. All the [expletive].
Six feet of distancing.”
Rodgers is entering his second year with the Steelers after deciding in May to return for a 22nd season in the league, ending retirement speculation.
He also took time on the podcast to praise Pat McAfee, who has drawn his own share of criticism since signing a multi-million-dollar deal with ESPN in 2023. Rodgers called McAfee an underrated voice in sports and defended the attention he gets.
“Underrated,” Rodgers said. “He carries game day, and the hate that he gets for that is absolutely asinine.
Carries game day. I mean, I like Kirby.
I've always liked Kirby and Corso. Corso is now retired, but like Pat is the show anywhere he goes.”
Rodgers and the Steelers open the season against the Falcons in a Week 1 matchup on Sunday, Sept. 13.
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