Outspoken anti-vaxxer Aaron Rodgers—who is currently sidelined after sustaining an injury during his debut playing with the New York Jets—challenged Kansas City Chiefs' tight end Travis Kelce on Tuesday, proposing a debate on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.
This comes after a back-and-forth between the two NFL stars, initiated when Rodgers poked fun at Kelce for his partnership with Pfizer in promoting flu shots and Covid vaccines.
Rodgers had referred to Kelce as "Mr. Pfizer" while discussing the Green Bay Packers' game against the Chiefs during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. Rodgers' comment came shortly after Kelce starred in a commercial promoting flu and COVID shots in partnership with Pfizer-BioNTech, the pharmaceutical company known for its COVID vaccine.
Kelce responded to Rodgers' remark with humor after being asked about it by reporters, saying Rodgers' comments were essentially a battle between "Mr. Pfizer vs. the Johnson & Johnson family over there," a reference to the fact that the Jets are owned by Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical heir Woody Johnson.
In announcing his challenge, Rodgers said he'd merely made "a tiny little joke about a guy shilling for a potentially ... corrupt company."
You can hear what Rodgers said in the video below.
Rodgers said:
"Well, there’s a lot of propaganda out there. Lot of propaganda out there."
"Mr. Pfizer said he didn't think he would be in vax war with me. This ain't a war homie. This is just conversation. But if you want to have some sort of duel, debate, have me on the podcast, come on the show, let us have a conversation."
Rodgers then suggested the "duel" would include proxy fighters, comparing it to the hit film John Wick: Chapter 4.
He suggested he'd have noted anti-vaxxer and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his side while Kelce would likely be joined by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the now-retired head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the face of the nation's COVID-19 response:
"I'm going to take my man RFK Jr., independent, and he can have, you know, Tony Fauci or some other pharmacrat and we can have a conversation about this.
He also addressed the reaction to his "Mr. Pfizer" remark, suggesting people had been "triggered":
"It's fascinating. I mean, the triggering, though. Was that not incredible last week? People getting absolutely triggered?"
"Listen, you know, like I saw some of it. I love — I mean, the Johnsons have been great to me. So I don’t mind you calling me ‘Mr. Johnson & Johnson.’"
"Woody and Christopher and their families, they’ve been great. I don’t play for the Johnson & Johnson corporation, I play for the New York Jets."
"So I mean, you know, I made a tiny little joke about a guy shilling for a, you know, potentially — it’s not potentially, but it’s a you know corrupt company and everybody kind of loses their minds over it.”
Rodgers was widely mocked after news of his "challenge" went viral.
Rodgers has a history of discussing COVID-related topics, including his own vaccination status. In 2021, he faced controversy for potentially misleading the public about his vaccination status and was critical of the NFL's pandemic restrictions.
He was criticized by such individuals as Fox sports analyst and retired Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who said it "would've been nice" if Rodgers "had just come to the naval academy and learned how to be honest."
State Farm Insurance also faced significant criticism after it published a statement of support for Rodgers referring to him as "a great ambassador." The move angered many who said the company's statement was irresponsible given the United States' lagging COVID-19 vaccination response.
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