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Aaron Rodgers Denies Claims of Super Bowl Protest After Boomer Esiason's Comments
January 7, 2022
Aaron Rodgers fired back at Boomer Esiason on Friday after the former NFL signal-caller said a source texted him that the Green Bay Packers quarterback will threaten to boycott the Super Bowl if the NFL doesn't relax its COVID-19 policies should the Packers reach the title game.
Aaron Rodgers @AaronRodgers12“he’s told <a href="https://twitter.com/jordan3love?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jordan3love</a> to be ready” 😂😂😂<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/directcircle?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#directcircle</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dumbestfuckingstoryever?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dumbestfuckingstoryever</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/fakenews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#fakenews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/boycottfakenews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#boycottfakenews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/boycottbums?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#boycottbums</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/boycottshoes?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#boycottshoes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/boycottwaterfalls?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#boycottwaterfalls</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/boycottAJsmokingcigars?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#boycottAJsmokingcigars</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/boycottLafleursBrows?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#boycottLafleursBrows</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/boycottGutchies?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#boycottGutchies</a> <a href="https://t.co/rhuyV2mnIN">https://t.co/rhuyV2mnIN</a>
On the former NFL quarterback's WFAN show Boomer and Gio on Friday, Esiason's radio co-host, Gregg Giannotti, read the text from Esiason's source on air:
"Boom, the Rodgers saga continues to get crazier and crazier. I've been told by multiple people in Aaron's direct circle that if the Packers make the Super Bowl, he will use the week leading up to the Super Bowl to prove a major point. He will threaten the NFL by saying he won't play in the big game, or next season, if they don't eliminate some of the COVID-related rules.
"One big one that upsets him the most is the testing of non-symptomatic players. He's told [Packers backup quarterback] Jordan Love to be ready. Like you said, he's gotta make it first, but Super Bowl week will be set on fire and send [NFL Commissioner Roger] Goodell in a frenzy navigating the situation."
Rodgers' Packers are in the driver's seat to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. They have sewn up the NFC's No. 1 seed and the conference's bye week in the playoffs.
Rodgers has made national headlines for his COVID-19 opinions.
He told reporters in August he was "immunized" against COVID-19, but he admitted he wasn't vaccinated when he tested positive in November and sat out his team's 13-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rodgers has discussed his unsubstantiated opinions on the NFL's COVID-19 policies at length and said the league did not approve his immunization plan.
"Some of the rules are not based in science at all," Rodgers alleged on The Pat McAfee Show in November (h/t Emmanuel Morgan of the New York Times). "They're based purely in trying to out and shame people."
Rodgers also told McAfee in December (h/t Christopher Kuhagen of Packers News) that he believed the NFL was utilizing a "two-class system" for vaccinated and unvaccinated players.
Regardless of Rodgers' opinions, seeing him cap off a probable NFL MVP season and lead the Packers into the Super Bowl only to threaten a boycott for COVID-related reasons after committing to the franchise all year seems far-fetched at best and a falsity at worst.
It doesn't seem likely that he would leave his teammates before the biggest game of the year, regardless of how he feels about the league's COVID-19 stance.
Rodgers and the Packers will close their regular season Sunday against the Detroit Lions before playing a to-be-determined opponent during the divisional round either Jan. 22 or Jan. 23.