Mike Fisher — husband to Carrie Underwood and former captain of the Nashville Predators — has shared his support for fellow athlete Aaron Rodgers, whose unvaccinated status made headlines last week.
In an Instagram post over the weekend, Fisher backed the Green Bay Packers quarterback, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week and went on to confirm he had not been vaccinated. (Rodgers did not play in Sunday’s game against Kansas City.)
“I stand with @aaronrodgers12,” Fisher shared in a post, next to a gray image with the words, “I stand with Aaron Rodgers” written on it. “I believe in the freedom to choose what we put in our bodies and the freedom of conscience. I agree with him in that the science clearly shows the vaccinated spread covid at basically the same rate as the unvaccinated.”
Fisher continued: “The @nhl @nfl and other leagues are ignoring the science and choosing to coerce and punish unvaccinated players with these restrictions. If they really cared about people’s health they would have daily testing for all. But these past 2 years has clearly shown us that this is not about our health, it’s about control over our lives.”
In his Instagram post, the hockey star, who originally hails from Ontario, Canada, advocated for “medical freedom.”
“I won’t stand for that. It’s time to fight for our medical freedom and I feel for those that have been fired for choosing medical freedom. People losing their jobs over a medical choice is un-American and unacceptable. We need to stand up now before it’s too late!! #medicalfreedom #istandwithaaronrodgers,” his Instagram statement concluded.
Fisher’s post garnered over 50,000 likes by Monday morning, including one from his wife, the former “American Idol” winner who also sings NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” theme song.
Last Friday, Rodgers appeared on the “Pat McAfee Show,” where he was given the floor to speak after his vaccination status became public, and after a press conference from August — where he said he was “immunized” — once again made headlines.
“First of all, I didn’t lie in the initial press conference,” Rodgers said on the show. “During that time it was a very, you know, witch hunt that was going on across the League where everyone in the media was so concerned about who was vaccinated and who wasn’t and what that meant, and who was being selfish, and who would talk about it, and what it would mean if they said it was a personal decision … and at the time, my plan was to say I have been immunized. It wasn’t some sort of ruse or lie. It was the truth.”
At that August press conference, however, Rodgers also said, “There’s guys on the team who haven’t been vaccinated. I think it’s a personal decision. I’m not gonna judge those guys.”
During his “Pat McAfee Show” appearance, Rodgers said that if the reporter who had asked about his vaccine status had put another question to him, he would have explained what he meant by “immunized.”
“Had there been a follow up to my statement that I’d been immunized, I would have responded with this, I would have said, ‘Look, I’m not, you know, some sort of anti-vax flat-Earther, I’m somebody who’s a critical thinker,’” he said. “You guys know me, 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, you know, group of individuals who say you have to do something. Health is not a one size fits all for everybody.”
He also told the show that when he said “immunized,” he was referring to a “long-term immunization protocol,” but did not elaborate about what that entailed. Rodgers added that he was allergic to an ingredient in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.