Aaron Rodgers reveals hypocrisy in challenging Chiefs’ Travis Kelce to vaccine ‘debate’

Aaron Rodgers returned to a TV, streaming and podcast show that broadcast to 250 million viewers over the last three weeks alone, for a segment in which he voluntarily and readily participates, and he tried to appear baffled that his words are generating any kind of attention.

He called out Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce again on the Pat McAfee Show, with his selfie camera capturing a grin like he knew he had one of those one-liners that would land with the bros. And it’s a doozy: He proposed a tag-team style public debate against Kelce on the COVID-19 vaccine, the guise of a joke but laced with more than a hint of seriousness.

It is unclear to what extent Rodgers’ tongue is planted in his cheek during his face-of-the-unvaccinated monologues that run unchecked on cable’s second most-watched network. But to him, we’re all triggered or taking the bait or something like that for even thinking of expressing any dissent. The 250 million ought to just agree with him or ignore him, apparently.

But the broader takeaway is he genuinely thinks we should believe he is merely punching back. That he did not ask for any of what he is receiving, even though he’s mostly receiving just what he seems to be craving.

Attention.

Make no mistake: This would not be a conversation without Rodgers throwing the first punch toward Kelce. He returned this topic to the spotlight. He returned this topic into headlines. He initiated the discussion with Kelce and then elevated that discussion — and now he wants it to amplify it on a couple of the most popular podcasts in the world with a couple of other household names weighing in.

But come on, everyone, just leave him alone, won’t you?

Rodgers portrays himself as clever, as an individual thinker whose own research outweighs peer-reviewed medical journals, but he is not unique. He is a run-of-the-mill, seen-’em-a-thousand-times hypocrite. He is the essence of the type of politician he claims shoved him into such a corner, someone who camouflages his attacks by pretending to be on the defensive.

The woke mob, as he lovingly terms it, moved on from Rodgers, a lost cause long ago, so now he is publicly shooting his bow and arrow at someone else’s — what did he call it? — bodily autonomy.

His words. You know, back when he argued bodily autonomy should be free from scrutiny.

When he first spoke about his decision to not get vaccinated, he felt so confident in that decision he initially lied to media about it, then said he was allergic to the vaccinations, only to then say something about governmental control or something. He finally settled on this, from November 2021:

“I believe strongly in bodily autonomy and the ability to make choices for your body, not to have to acquiesce to some woke culture or crazed group of individuals who say you have to do something. Health is not one-size-fits-all for everybody.”

Which is why it only makes sense that he surely would praise Kelce for coming to his own decision, even if that decision is different than his. Bodily autonomy and all.

Oh.

Wait.

Instead, last week, Rodgers referred to Kelce as “Mr. Pfizer,” another example of his true feelings concealed as good-natured ribbing. Kelce, who has appeared in commercials for Pfizer encouraging people to get the COVID and flu shots, acknowledged the quip was “good” when I asked him about it last week, and added, “Who knew I’d get into vax wars with Aaron Rodgers, man?”

OK, so that was that. Moving on, right? Rodgers, who also once said aloud, “What about ‘my body, my choice?’” as a defense for his choices, surely wants to stay in harmony with his own words by just putting this all to rest and letting each man make his own decisions. He certainly wouldn’t get triggered by Kelce’s decision or opinion. His body, his choice, after all.

Oh.

Wait.

Instead, Rodgers wants a “John Wick 4” duel pitting Kelce and former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease director Anthony Fauci on one side, and himself and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the other. Because nobody has a better handle on COVID than a next-level conspiracy theorist who even a hardcore conspiracy theorist reads about and thinks, OK, that dude’s a little out there.

Why seek medical advice from doctors when you can find someone who believes chemical exposure causes gender dysphoria, antidepressants are the culprits for school shootings and that the 2004 presidential election was stolen? Check the date on the last part of that sentence.

“That’d be big ratings,” said Rodgers, the man who claims to not understand how this is getting so much attention.

Rodgers, mind you, had the opportunity to explain his “own research,” which included a medication used to de-worm animals, and replied, “I don’t know that exactly or wanna get into that exactly.”

Well, this should be some kind of debate then.

And let’s backtrack once more to how Rodgers previously explained the rationale for that vaccine stance: “Health should not be political.”

If I can find any agreeable ground with Rodgers through the haughty ignorance, it ought to be there. Doctors, not politicians, should be aiding healthcare decisions.

Which, you know, is why Rodgers wants RFK Jr., who just so happened to declare this week that he would run for president as an independent, to get involved in the conversation. Just to ensure none of this gets political.

Rodgers is nothing if not remarkably inconsistent.

In his defense, maybe his only defense, it’s much more difficult to stay on track when the facts rest on the other side. There’s not a case presented in the world that will change anyone’s mind about the pandemic, or solutions to the pandemic — an unfortunate truth that I realize. But Rodgers, increasingly seen as some sort of deity to the anti-vax crowd, is an imposter for what he even claims to believe.

On Tuesday, he referred to Kelce as “shilling for a potentially corrupt company.”

True to there’s-always-a-tweet-for-it form, you only have to backtrack to his own history, and not even that far back: Rodgers was once happy to take money from a healthcare organization, Prevea Health, even deep into the pandemic, until they turned off the faucet in November 2021, making clear that they are “encouraging and helping all eligible populations to become vaccinated against COVID-19 to prevent the virus from further significantly impacting lives and livelihoods.”

This would be laughable if not for those last four words. But, hey, the brahs are having a good time with it anyway.

Rodgers is blissfully ignorant to how the millions of viewers on stream might be responding in the moment, but he has a willing audience with host Pat McAfee and sidekick AJ Hawk — and evidently in their new employer, ESPN, which is apparently just fine with being the gateway for their spread of misinformation, so long as it comes with ratings. McAfee has served as nothing more than an automated sit-com laugh track for Rodgers, and the moment the interviews end, he promotes them on social media.

So did ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, for that matter, calling the Rodgers’ proposal of the four-way duel “the potential next great American debate.”

Ah, yes, right after we get to the bottom of whether Neil Armstrong really landed and walked on the moon.

McAfee boasted Tuesday that the network, which recently gave him a five-year, $85 million contract per the New York Post, has stayed out of his business, even as Rodgers outwardly mocks those who choose to receive the vaccine.

“They haven’t said a single thing to us,” he told Rodgers. “Not a single thing.”

In other words, these appearances are uninterrupted campaign speeches, Rodgers stumping for, well, himself as the smartest guy in the room. And don’t think for a moment that RFK Jr. didn’t enjoy his free advertisement on national TV, either. If anyone pushes back too hard, careful, you might shove Rodgers — and his ratings attraction — right out the door.

McAfee has only once come even close to calling out his friend on any of the obvious hypocrisy, pointing out that Rodgers is the quarterback for the Jets, a team owned by the heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune.

On Tuesday, McAfee began to ask Rodgers about his comfort in that dynamic. But Rodgers appeared stuck on a reply, because, guess what, hypocrisy can be hard to defend. So McAfee quickly let his boy off the hook, interrupting the reply he initially sought with, “We’ll get your answer next week.”

Sure. Can’t wait.