Dr. Peter Hotez once blasted Aaron Rodgers for anti-vaccine stance during COVID-19 pandemic - "NFL walked away from its commitment"

Aaron Rodgers' seemingly favored 2024 US Presidential candidate and Dr. Peter Hotez got into a bit of a kerfuffle on Twitter. It all stemmed from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running for the Democratic Party's nomination, appearing on Joe Rogan's show and giving some of his views on vaccines. Dr. Peter Hotez took issue to some of the views and challenged them.

It led to a back and forth between the show host and the doctor, with the former asking the latter to appear on his show and debate with the Presidential candidate. When he seemingly refused to take the offer, Elon Musk, Twitter's owner, jumped in on the side of RFK Jr. and Joe Rogan.

Within all of this, it is pertinent to revisit Dr. Peter Hotez's views on Aaron Rodgers himself, rather than the candidate he looks to be endorsing. A bit of background here that the doctor is a expert on vaccinations, who was a part of the development of a patent-free vaccine for SARS COV-2. He also has a child who is on the autistic spectrum, which he has been open about.

On the other hand, Aaron Rodgers came to prominence about his views on vaccination when he misled NFL fans into believing he had taken the COVID shot, when he said he was 'immunized' when asked. But after he contracted COVID, it became apparent that he was not vaccinated and had allegedly been flouting league norms on vaccination at the point.

When asked about why he said he was immunized, he also provided other alternative methods, which he believed could counteract the COVID virus. It was something that was widely discussed and to Dr. Peter Hotez, the NFL abrogated the responsibility of vaccination discourse to one of its most famous players.

He said that by not offering a counternarrative to what Aaron Rodgers was saying, especially since it looked apparent that their own protocols were broken, it was leading to a vacuum. He said:

"I explained why this goes way beyond Aaron Rodgers. We focus on this man because there is no counter narrative, there is a vacuum. The vacuum is the ⁦@NFL, commissioner, team owners, players union. They abdicated their responsibilities."

Today with ⁦⁦@ChrisJansing⁩ I explained why this goes way beyond Aaron Rodgers. We focus on this man because there is no counter narrative, there is a vacuum. The vacuum is the ⁦@NFL⁩, commissioner, team owners, players union. They abdicated their responsibilities https://t.co/zgpJU9VvSx

Dr. Peter Hotez also said that NFL had a duty to promote safe vaccination among the masses given their clout and reach. He contended that if they want to be at the forefront of the public consciousness, they cannot shirk the debates that happen in those spaces, writing:

"The NFL walked away from its commitment to the American people tone-deaf to their historic role in helping the nation in times of crisis. They should have been in the lead helping to vaccinate the nation, making this a top priority."

The NFL walked away from its commitment to the American 🇺🇸 people tone-deaf to their historic role in helping the nation in times of crisis. They should have been in the lead helping to vaccinate the nation, making this a top priority. Instead they’ve done the minimum, merely…

Dr. Peter Hotez took aim at the NBA and Kyrie Irving beyond Aaron Rodgers

He continued the thread to take apart Kyrie Irving and the NBA for having a similar stance and saying it does a disfavor to nearly 150,000 unvaccinated Americans who had perished to the pandemic at the point. Dr. Peter Hotez ended by calling the whole situation tragic:

"Right now, the tragic default is as follows. By not stepping up to lead a vaccine campaign, the @NFL has designated Aaron Rodgers as the face of the league when it comes to covid vaccinations, as has the @NBA for Kyrie Irving. And it's unacceptable."

Right now, the tragic default is as follows. By not stepping up to lead a vaccine campaign, the @NFL has designated Aaron Rodgers as the face of the league when it comes to covid vaccinations, as has the @NBA for Kyrie Irving. And it's unacceptable.

Aaron Rodgers seems to have thrown his support behind Dr. Peter Hotez's adversary

While Aaron Rodgers has never commented on Dr. Peter Hotez's views, it looks to be the case that he is backing Robert F Kennedy Jr. for the 2024 US Presidential nomination. He even supported the candidate appearing on Joe Rogan, the same show that raised the doctor's ire now.

The quarterback has never been shy about his views and seems to be taking an oblique shot at the medical professional, rather than going at him directly like the other did.