When Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 on November 3, 2021, he was rendered unable to play against the Kansas City Chiefs on November 7. Now, Rodgers can play again on November 14, against the Seattle Seahawks.
Originally, alongside cornerback Isaac Yiadom on November 3. The NFL is currently looking into how the Packers have complied with the league’s COVID-19 protocols.
Per league protocols, if Rodgers tests positive and is unvaccinated, the Green Bay quarterback must quarantine for at least 10 days and can’t return until November 13 at the earliest, provided he remains asymptomatic.
According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, Rodgers went through an alternate treatment before the start of training camp. The Packers starting quarterback subsequently petitioned the NFL to treat his alternative treatment the same as any of the approved vaccinations.
Following lengthy discussions, the league, the players union, and an infectious disease expert came together to determine that Rodgers would not receive the same consideration as someone who used the approved vaccinations, thus he would be considered unvaccinated.
On November 3, 2021, the NFL said it was “aware of the current situation in Green Bay” and would be looking over the situation with the Packers.
“The primary responsibility for enforcement of the COVID protocols within club facilities rests with each club,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy declared in a statement. “Failure to properly enforce the protocols has resulted in discipline being assessed against individual clubs in the past.”
When he was previously asked about his vaccination status in August, Rodgers revealed he was “immunized.”
“You know, there’s a lot of conversation around it, around the league, and a lot of guys who have made statements and not made statements, owners who have made statements,” Rodgers stated when he was questioned about his vaccination status back in August. “There’s guys on the team that haven’t been vaccinated. I think it’s a personal decision. I’m not going to judge those guys. There are guys that’ve been vaccinated that have contracted COVID. It’s an interesting issue that I think we’re going to see played out the entire season.”
He later added: “I think I like to learn about everything that I’m doing, and there was a lot of research that even went into that. But like I said, there’s been people that have tested positive, and I think it’s only vaccinated people here. It’s going to be interesting to see how things work moving forward. Obviously, there could be some issues with vaccinated people only testing every couple weeks and then non-vaccinated testing every day.”
The NFL has considered Rodgers as unvaccinated since the 2021 NFL season kicked off.
As a result of his positive test, Rodgers was placed on the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list
With Rodgers sidelined, backup quarterback Jordan Love made his first career start against the Chiefs on the road on November 7. The Packers lost 13-7 and are currently 7-2.
The reaction to Rodgers’ COVID-19 by NFL figures and the media was even more telling. ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith described Rodgers’ attempt to defend himself from the woke mob as an “embarrassment.”
Rodgers in his 17th season in the league and has passed for 53,139 yards and 429 touchdowns so far in his career.
Regardless of his top-tier performance as a quarterback, Rodgers has been completely pilloried by the corporate press. No public figure in the US can escape the clutches of wokism, which seeks to police every nook and cranny of society. Anyone who deviates, no matter how productive they may be, could be subject to the arbitrary persecutions of the wokes.
