Aaron Rodgers gets slammed by Gregg Doyel for anti-vaccine movement on Pat McAfee Show
Indianapolis Star columnist Gregg Doyel layed into Aaron Rodgers' Pat McAfee show appearances, especially as it pertains to non-football matters. The quarterback has recently come on and kept airing his views on vaccines, which the Sar columnist disagrees with.
He said:
“Every Tuesday, Aaron Rodgers emerges from his rathole and looks around smugly, enjoying the smell of his own (breath), and says something really, really stupid about vaccines. And because we live in this cult of fame, liking and believing and even electing people only because they’re rich or famous, people believe Rodgers. So he’s out there, every Tuesday, saying something that makes us less safe.”
In addition to deriding the influence of famous people, Gregg Doyel went on to say that Aaron Rodgers' stances are making people and society unsafe.
Gregg Doyel has a different understanding of Pat McAfee and Aaron Rodgers
Gregg Doyel went on to say that even though Pat McAfee is platforming Aaron Rodgers, he believes the former Indianapolis Colts star has his heart in the right place. The columnist said that he thinks that the new ESPN show host believes in the efficacy of vaccines:
“Unlike Rodgers and people of his ilk, people who think they’re the smartest guy in the room, McAfee is the smartest guy in the room. He also was born with a second serving of empathy. He’s a good man with a good heart, Pat McAfee. He understands vaccines are the only reason the war is over, the only reason the good guys won."
Gregg Doyel is particularly frustrated that ESPN continues to turn a blind eye to what the quarterback says, which are conspiracy theories, according to him:
“For some reason, though, he gives Aaron Rodgers a few minutes every week to say whatever he wants, and Rodgers wants to spout disproven anti-vaxxer nonsense and dangerous conspiracy theories. Why does McAfee do it? Why does ESPN let him?”
He frames this in relation to what happened with Sage Steele and the network. She used to work for them and made controversial remarks about not being happy with the vaccine mandate and only taking the shot because the requirement was in place. It led the network getting her to apologize, which she later claimed was forced as well.
Gregg Doyel's frustrations are clear for all to see and he makes a pertinent point regarding the network potentially having double standards. Whether that changes anything on the show itself remains doubtful given that Aaron Rodgers is one of the main draws of the Pat McAfee show.