Sports legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has spoken out about the controversy surrounding Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers' anti-vaccination scandal and he's not mincing words.
Addressing Rodgers in his Substack newsletter, Abdul-Jabbar excoriated Rodgers for lying about his vaccination status and putting his teammates at risk.
The NCAA and NBA legend and Hall of Famer characterized Rodgers' dishonesty as "illogical hubris" and charged him with damaging all professional athletes' reputations in a blistering takedown that has Rodgers' critics applauding.
Aaron Rodgers didn't just lie he also damaged professional sports https://t.co/dcqdEPIpDo
— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) November 8, 2021
Rodgers touched off a firestorm after testing positive for COVID-19 last month and revealing he lied about having been vaccinated back in August. He has since trafficked in several vaccine conspiracy theories and revealed he has been treating his COVID-19 infection with Ivermectin, a veterinary parasiticide conspiracy theorists claim cures the disease and which has resulted in a handful of deaths.
Abdul-Jabbar addressed all of this and more in his Substack piece, saying Rodgers has violated a "sacred trust" between athletes and fans, especially children, and he "[abused his] position and responsibility, not just to the public, but to other professional athletes' livelihood."
Abdul-Jabbar also lambasted Rodgers for consulting anti-vaxx podcaster Joe Rogan on how to treat his positive case of COVID-19.
"Instead of consulting immunologists, he consulted anti-vaxxer and podcast host Joe Rogan, who also contracted the virus."
"If he ever requires open-heart surgery will he hand the scalpel to romance writers because they know about matters of the heart?"
Abdul-Jabbar then charged Rodgers with not only endangering his fellow athletes' health, but also reinforcing stereotypes about people in sports.
"Rodgers' ignorance regarding the science of immunology brings back to life the old stereotype of the big dumb jock. His utter lack of even the most basic knowledge and logic is shocking."
And he had very little patience for Rodgers' subsequent claims that he's being silenced by a "woke mob."
"Rodgers complained that the 'cancel culture' was coming for him, but his own words cancel him as a liar and a bad thinker."
On Twitter, Abdul-Jabbar's takedown left people cheering.
Here is the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar burial of Aaron Rodgers that you didn't know you needed, but you do https://t.co/QU1gVfRt2t pic.twitter.com/bug6NOZ3m1
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) November 8, 2021
This is how you do 'Critical Thinking'.
— Sustainable Tweet🇺🇸🌊🐾🏳️🌈 (@OliverG777) November 9, 2021
Love this little nugget. An absolute dagger from the legend. pic.twitter.com/JsyrJG8Zl4
— Kurtis Hair (@KurtisHair) November 8, 2021
This man Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ripped Aaron Rodgers a new one lmao pic.twitter.com/aFYq6qBekj
— LEW (@ChrisfLewis) November 8, 2021
Can't figure out also why Kaepernick and Rodgers are being treated so differently … Just can't figure it out … smh
— PG (@pbg8) November 8, 2021
A important read by a legend who's using his large platform for good. https://t.co/oCvi5mOhOo
— uché blackstock, md (@uche_blackstock) November 10, 2021
Kareem didn't waste a single sentence here. https://t.co/K0tyj1f5MV
— Justin Tinsley (@JustinTinsley) November 8, 2021
Kareem Abdul Jabbar with as calm, thorough, reasoned and well written a takedown of Aaron Rodgers as you will find. https://t.co/XIIyFSQPhn
— Jack Todd (@jacktodd46) November 9, 2021
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is missing a shoe because it's in Aaron Rodgers' ass.
— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) November 9, 2021
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar brought facts and all of the smoke to Aaron Rodgers and this bar is the cherry on top https://t.co/UIP5SCN0xC pic.twitter.com/yhnvt68Ts1
— 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐞 (@exavierpope) November 8, 2021
Abdul-Jabbar closed his piece by pointing out that former NFL player Colin Kaepernick has been "blacklisted" for protesting systemic racism while Rodgers has faced no repercussions for " lying to the fans and his teammates and putting innocent lives in danger."
Here's hoping Abdul-Jabbar's takedown doesn't fall on deaf ears.