Following Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” last Friday, the expectation was that Rodgers would lose many of his sponsors after providing his reasons for remaining unvaccinated.
Rodgers used all of the talking points that will get you cancelled by the Left, questioning many aspects of the vaccine during the nearly hour-long segment. He also said he was in the “crosshairs of the woke mob.”
But on Monday, State Farm — Rodgers’ biggest sponsor — backed him, stating that, while they “encourage vaccinations,” they support Rodgers’ right to share his points of view.
“Aaron Rodgers has been a great ambassador for our company for much of the past decade,” State Farm said in a statement to FOX Business.
“We don’t support some of the statements that he has made, but we respect his right to have his own personal point of view. We recognize our customers, employees, agents and brand ambassadors come from all walks of life, with differing viewpoints on many issues. Our mission at State Farm is to support safer, stronger communities. To that end, we encourage vaccinations, but respect everyone’s right to make a choice based on their personal circumstances,” the business added.
Not everyone took State Farm’s approach.
Prevea Health — a Wisconsin-based healthcare company — ended their relationship with Rodgers following his comments on the vaccine.
“Prevea Health and Aaron Rodgers have made the decision to end their partnership effective Nov. 6, 2021,” Prevea Health said in a statement Saturday. “Aaron has been a partner of Prevea Health, serving as a spokesperson and supporting the health care organization’s health and wellness initiatives throughout Wisconsin, since 2012. Prevea Health remains deeply committed to protecting its patients, staff, providers and communities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes encouraging and helping all eligible populations to become vaccinated against COVID-19 to prevent the virus from further significantly impacting lives and livelihoods.”
NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ripped Rodgers on Monday, saying that he “damaged professional sports” with his comments.
“Rodgers’ ignorance regarding the science of immunology brings back to life the old stereotype of the big dumb jock,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “His utter lack of even the most basic knowledge and logic is shocking.”
Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 last Wednesday and went on McAfee’s show to discuss his decision to abstain from the vaccine.
“First of all, I didn’t lie in the initial press conference,” Rodgers said. “During that time, it was a witch hunt that was going on across the league where everybody in the media was so concerned about who was vaccinated and who wasn’t and what that meant … And at the time, my plan was to say that I had been immunized. It wasn’t some sort of ruse or lie. It was the truth.”
Rodgers said that he learned that he has an allergy to an ingredient in the mRNA vaccines and that he was not comfortable taking the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to some people having bad reactions to the J&J shot.
He decided to go an alternative route and that the NFL was aware of it. He petitioned the NFL to accept his immunization status and was denied.
Rodgers missed Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, with backup Jordan Love getting his first NFL start in a 13-7 loss. Rodgers could be eligible to return to the team November 13.
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].