"Aaron Rodgers is a liar, while Kyrie Irving was honest" - Stephen A. Smith feels Packers QB jeopardized entire organization
Stephen A. Smith, the infamous ESPN reporter and host of "First Take," obviously has opinions on Aaron Rodgers and his quotes from this past summer about his vaccination status.
For those that may not have been paying attention over the last 36 hours or so, Rodgers, the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, is out for this Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs due to testing positive for COVID-19.
#Packers QB Aaron Rodgers is unvaccinated, per me and @MikeGarafolo. That’s why he’s out for Sunday vs. the #Chiefs.
The controversy lies with the fact that back in August, when asked by a reporter if he was vaccinated, Rodgers answered:
"Yeah, I've been immunized."
Thought this was interesting:
Here’s Aaron Rodgers in that same press conference when asked about the importance of getting the vaccine https://t.co/8qBzw5KKuK
Today's episode of "First Take," an ESPN daily sports debate show hosted by Stephen A. Smith and moderater Molly Qerim Rose, spotlighted the situation as Smith debated with former NBA player-turned-sports analyst Jay Williams.
Smith did not mince words as he made it plain and simple as to how he felt about Aaron Rodgers:
"Aaron Rodgers is a liar, Aaron Rodgers should be suspended."
Smith and Williams were debating the difference in vaccine situations between Rodgers and Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving. New York City has an ordinance that employees of the Barclays Center, where the Nets play their home games, must show proof of vaccination to enter the building.
Since Irving is currently refusing to get vaccinated, he is not playing right now for the Nets at all.
Jay Williams wanted to take Smith to task over seeming more enraged with Irving's vaccine situation as opposed to Rodgers' situation.
Smith responded with the following:
"Let me be clear. I agree with you with that. Aaron Rodgers is worse because he lied and Kyrie was honest."
Smith has never been one to hold back from having a strong opinion, so it was no surprise that his words reverberated throughout the set with his strong take.
What does all of this mean for Rodgers?
Currently, Rodgers must miss 10 days since he is unvaccinated. This puts his earliest return to Week 10, a matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.
As for how this affects the Packers on the field. They will have backup quarterback Jordan Love as the starter. This will be Love's first NFL start and he will have the monumental task of taking on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, which is typically amongst the loudest stadiums in the league.
Receivers Davante Adams and Allen Lazard missed last Thursday's game due to being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
But Lazard was activated off the list Monday and earlier today, the Green Bay Packers announced that Adams was also activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list.
The Packers will need both of them in order to have any chance of defeating the Chiefs at home without their star quarterback at the helm.
Can the Packers defeat the Chiefs without Rodgers?
The simple answer here is that on any given Sunday, any team can be upset. However, these upsets typically start with superb play at the quarterback position. As it stands now, we are unsure what to expect from Jordan Love.
One thing is for certain and that is that the Packers await the return of their number 12 to continue their quest to bring the Lombardi trophy home.