Aaron Rodgers has been dropped as a spokesperson by Prevea Health, a health group based out of Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Prevea Health has partnered with the Green Bay Packers quarterback as a spokesperson since 2012. But the two parted ways on Saturday in the wake of a controversy in which Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19, only for it to be revealed that he misled the media and the NFL about whether or not he was vaccinated.
“Prevea Health remains deeply committed to protecting its patients, staff, providers and communities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic,” the organization said in a statement Saturday. “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.”
Rodgers in August had told press that he was “immunized” and specifically contrasted himself against other people who refuse to receive COVID vaccines — and behaved as if he was vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. But Rodgers on Friday appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” and was defiant against his critics, referring to the league’s vaccine policies as a “witch hunt,” described being caught up in the “cancel culture” and saying that he had an allergy to one of the ingredients in the vaccine.
“Look, I’m not some sort of anti-vax, flat earther,” Rodgers said. “I march to the beat of my own drum. I believe strongly in bodily autonomy and the ability to make choices for your body, not to have to acquiesce to some woke culture or crazed group of individuals who say you have to do something. Health is not a one-size-fits-all for everybody. And for me, it involved a lot of study in the offseason, much like the study I put into hosting ‘Jeopardy!’ Or the weekly study I put into playing the game.”
“This vaccine is revolutionary, however we don’t know a whole lot about it. For the media taking shots at me, you now know my story so quit lying about me,” he continued. “Personal health decisions in my opinion should be private.
Rodgers as a result of being unvaccinated will miss this Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs and is at risk of missing the following week’s game as the earliest he’ll be eligible to be activated is 10 days after initially testing positive.