NFL teams irate at Aaron Rodgers COVID protocol double standard

by · New York Post

Aaron Rodgers’ COVID-19 protocol malfeasance is upsetting players and coaches around the league.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, multiple coaches and executives have complained that Rodgers flouted guidelines for unvaccinated players that their teams followed. That includes the Green Bay quarterback not wearing a mask during preseason games.

“That’s B.S,” an anonymous executive told ESPN. “… What’s going on in Green Bay, that’s not what our teams were told by the NFL. Our players wore masks all the time. We made our guys that weren’t playing wear masks.”

Rodgers and the Packers are facing fines, but not suspensions, according to multiple reports. Rodgers is missing Sunday’s game against the Chiefs after testing positive for COVID-19. In an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Rodgers embraced vaccine conspiracy theories surrounding their effects on fertility and said he had attempted homeopathic remedies to increase his antibody levels.

NFL coaches and executives around the league aren’t happy about Aaron Rodgers seemingly being held to a different standard of protocols.

In August, when asked about his vaccination status, Rodgers told reporters he was “immunized.” His petition to be considered vaccinated, though, was denied. He regularly appeared at press conferences without a mask, violating NFL protocol.

“I have followed every single protocol to a T, except that one that makes absolutely no sense to me,” Rodgers said on “The Pat McAfee Show.”

The league will look at video footage from inside the team facility to check that masks were being worn and protocols adhered to, according to ESPN. They are also looking into a Halloween party that Rodgers attended. Pictures on social media showed players at the party not wearing masks.

Aaron Rodgers will miss Sunday’s Packers-Chiefs game after testing positive for COVID-19.

Jordan Love, whom the Packers took in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, will make his first career start in Rodgers’ absence on Sunday. The Packers also pulled Blake Bortles off the golf course to serve as backup. Rodgers told McAfee he experienced mild symptoms. The earliest he could be cleared to return is Nov. 13, the day before Green Bay plays Seattle.