"Aaron Rodgers risked others’ lives for his career" - Fans demand Colin Kaepernick's return to NFL

As the regular season ends and Aaron Rodgers nears another MVP award, Colin Kaepernick fans are pointing out the league's double standards that have kept him out of the NFL for yet another season.

While the NFL effectively blacklisted Colin Kaepernick for taking a knee during the National Anthem to protest police brutality, it has yet to take any punitive action of note against Aaron Rodgers. This is despite the latter putting people around him at risk by not being vaccinated and not following corresponding protocols.

Being unvaccinated, Aaron Rodgers was expected to follow the #NFL's protocol:

➡️Traveling on separate flight as rest of team
➡️Getting tested daily
➡️Wearing mask at team facilities and during travel
➡️Not leaving hotels
➡️Not eating meals with teammates

However...

📹 @Packers https://t.co/LNyvtepoUN

Accordingly, fans demanded that Colin Kaepernick be treated with the same gloves that have so delicately handled Aaron Rodgers and that the quarterback- turned-activist be reinstated in the NFL.

The NFL's different approaches to Aaron Rodgers and Colin Kaepernick

Fans were quick to point out the perceived injustice in Aaron Rodgers facing no action for knowingly putting people around him at risk since he was not vaccinated. He risked others' lives, putting his career over others.

Colin Kaepernick did exactly the opposite, putting his career on the line to achieve wider societal change. One fan tweeted this stark difference between the two quarterbacks.

Colin Kaepernick risked his career for others. Aaron Rogers risked others’ lives for his career. twitter.com/mark_fricke196…

Others resorted to wordplay to convey the same meaning, pointing out Aaron Rodgers' actions risked those around him, while Colin Kaepernick risked himself in his struggle.

@greenshade2001 twitter.com/TCRG2012/statu…

The NFL's perceived bias has irked many fans who have called for Colin Kaepernick's reinstatement in the league. They pointed out that while Aaron Rodgers violated NFL policies and protocols, the movement by Colin Kaepernick was so profound that the league itself embraced it later.

If Aaron Rodgers can return to the field after lying and putting his teammates at risk, there is absolutely no reason Colin Kaepernick cannot return also.
#KaepernickPlay

There were those, however, who objected to Aaron Rodgers and Colin Kaepernick being compared in their struggles, because they were of different magnitudes.

On the one hand, Aaron Rodgers has disregarded, as he has the right to do, the wider medical consensus that recommends vaccines as protection against COVID.

On the other hand, Colin Kaepernick became the focal point for those who had become victims of police brutality in many cases because of the color of their skin.

People better not be comparing Aaron Rodgers to Colin Kaepernick.

Kap took a stand on behalf of victims of violence and discrimination.

Rodgers is simply an arrogant prick who thinks he knows more about medicine than professionals who have studied the field for years.

But amid all the mayhem in this hyper-polarized environment, some fans took the time to remember that Aaron Rodgers did support the crusade Colin Kaepernick was on. In fact, the Packers quarterback had backed racial solidarity and Kaepernick's reinstatement, saying,

“I think [Colin Kaepernick] should be on a roster right now. I think, because of his protests, he’s not.”

why is everyone beating the shit out of @AaronRodgers12 and comparing him to @Kaepernick7?
covid aside, rodgers supported kaepernick’s kneeling for the anthem.
he’s not a radical conservative, folks.
he’s not the enemy. kaepernick’s not the enemy.
trump’s the enemy. focus. https://t.co/msnZEtxppi

Ultimately, though, it is not tough to see this devolving into partisan warfare. Most people, however, should agree that on playing abilities alone, both Aaron Rodgers and Colin Kaepernick should be in the league. While one has the luxury at the moment, fans are hoping that the other gets his chance soon, too.