Regrets? New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has a few. Though he’s known for doing things his way, not all of his decisions have proven to be wise. And one in particular stands out to him.
In a new unauthorized biography by Ian O’Connor, “Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers,” Rodgers told O’Connor that he wishes he hadn’t used the term “immunized” in 2021 when he was asked if he had received the COVID-19 vaccine.
“If there’s one thing I wish could have gone different, it’s that, because that’s the only thing [critics] could hit me with,” Rodgers said in the book, via ESPN. He regrets saying “immunized” not because it was medically untrue, but because it gave the media an opening to criticize him.
In 2021, Rodgers (who was then with the Green Bay Packers) had said in the preseason that he had been “immunized” against COVID-19, though he notably didn’t say he’d been “vaccinated,” which is what the NFL had been requiring. Throughout the first two months of the season, Rodgers hadn’t been subject to the safety protocols the NFL instituted for unvaccinated players.
Then Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 in November 2021. He was forced to follow the safety protocols, indicating that he had actually not been vaccinated, and he had been using the word “immunized” to describe a homeopathic treatment regimen. He had appealed to the NFL to count him as vaccinated due to the non-medical treatment he’d received, but the league turned him down.
The “immunized” incident singlehandedly changed Rodgers’ public image from rugged, slightly eccentric All-American quarterback to conspiracy theorist football player who wouldn’t stop talking. Rodgers told O’Connor he had used the term “immunized” specifically to mislead the public and the media and influence the NFL. Via ESPN:
“I had an immunization card from my holistic doctor, which looked similar. I wasn’t trying to pawn it off as a vaccine card, but I said, ‘Listen, here’s my protocol. Here’s what you can follow to look this up.’ And it was an ongoing appeal. So, if I had just said [I was unvaccinated] in the moment, there’s no chance that the appeal would have been handled the exact same way.”
As for why Rodgers wanted to avoid the COVID-19 vaccine, he said he’d determined from his own research that he was allergic to one of the ingredients in the vaccines. It is not known if he’s ever had a medical test confirming this, but that allergy would be central to his defense if he could get a do-over on the whole incident.
“But if I could do it again, I would have said [in August], f*** the appeal,” Rodgers told O’Connor. “I’m just going to tell them I’m allergic to PEG, I’m not getting Johnson & Johnson, I’m not going to be vaxxed.”
“Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers” is scheduled to be released Aug. 20.