"I take full responsibility for people who felt misled" - Aaron Rodgers apologizes for misleading comments on vaccination
Aaron Rodgers has spent the past week railing against the "woke mob" and "cancel culture." This is all because people had the temerity to say that the wider medical and scientific community did not agree with his conclusions about vaccinations and that he definitely misled people when he said he was "immunized".
Aaron Rodgers explains his decision:
"I'm not an anti-vaxx, flat-earther.. I have an allergy to an ingredient that's in the mRNA vaccines. I found a long term immunization protocol to protect myself & I'm very proud of the research that went into that"
https://t.co/I1T1ESmU9d
He also continued to follow NFL protocols as if he were vaccinated, like not wearing a mask for indoor press conferences to name just one.
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
This week, appearing on the same show in which he had made his initial unfounded comments, he seemed to show a hint of contrition.
Aaron Rodgers apologizes to those "who felt misled"
Aaron Rodgers appeared on the Pat McAfee show and felt the need to clarify his past comments because of the firestorm they had generated.
He began by saying that he had no further comments on those that he made last week and then went on to make some more anyway. The Green Bay Packers quarterback said he will keep his discussions with the doctors private.
Aaron Rodgers also made an attempt to move away from the controversy by saying he is not an activist and that he would like to focus on playing football. He would have certainly hoped to have drawn a line there, but by comparing those who advocated for vaccines to segregationists and equating his struggle with that of Martin Luther King Jr., he may have already gone to the point of no return.
Perhaps Aaron Rodgers saved his most feeble attempt at moving on at the end. His attempt at an apology did not take the form of owning up to his part in it, rather he used passive voice to cast to blame on everyone else.
"I acknowledge that I made some comments that people might have felt were misleading.. to anybody who felt misled by those comments I take full responsibility" ~@AaronRodgers12
#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE https://t.co/i9F7ojd8w8
Nobody was misled by the comments, Aaron Rodgers misled them deliberately. His response was in the affirmative to a question about vaccination. He might have felt under pressure given his views. That is understandable, but the more he digs into his own corner, the worse he makes it for himself.
If he really wants to leave this all behind and get back to playing ball, as he wants, all he needs to do is offer a direct apology, pay the fine for breaking the league protocols and follow them henceforth. Whether that is something Aaron Rodgers can do will only be known in the coming weeks.