Aaron Rodgers Regrets 'Immunized' Remark About COVID; Would've Said 'F--k the Appeal'

New York Jets star Aaron Rodgers would've been more straightforward about his COVID-19 vaccination status in 2021 if he could relive the moment again.

Rodgers famously told reporters he was "immunized" against COVID, which some took to mean he had gotten the vaccine. In an upcoming book by Ian O'Connor, he expressed regret at not relaying his true stance.

"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," he said (via ESPN).

Rodgers lamented how much he was focused on his appeal to the NFL to be considered vaccinated under the league's guidelines.

"But if I could do it again, I would have said [in August], f--k the appeal. 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," he said. "... 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."

During a 2022 interview with Joe Rogan (via CNN's Ben Morse), Rodgers said he had contemplated how to respond when asked by reporters about whether he had been vaccinated. He thought using the word "immunized" might prompt follow-up questions that allowed him to provide a more nuanced answer.

Rodgers tested positive for COVID midway through the 2021 season, which led people to discover his true status as it related to the vaccine. He also received a fine from the NFL for violating its COVID policies when he attended a team party while unvaccinated.

New York City issued a vaccine mandate in 2021 amid the global pandemic. NBA star Kyrie Irving, who played for the Brooklyn Nets at the time, missed a large chunk of the 2021-22 season after refusing to receive the vaccine.

Rodgers told O'Connor he wouldn't have felt compelled to get vaccinated if a similar mandate had jeopardized his playing status.