Aaron Rodgers responded to rumors about his possible Super Bowl boycott over COVID-19 rules in the NFL by tweeting jokes about the claim.
On Friday, during his CBS Sports NFL Today podcast, Boomer Esiason shared a text message he received from an unknown source about the Packers’ QB.
What did he say?
The “source” indicated that Rodgers would boycott the Super Bowl due to the NFL’s COVID-19 rules, specifically the rule that asymptomatic players must evaluate.
But, it is important to note that there is more context to this story.
Esiason and his co-host, Gregg Giannotti, later acknowledged that they believed the text was a joke.
Giannotti posted the clip. with this conclusion seven minutes before Rodgers ranted on Twitter about the rumor.
Rodgers first retweeted the first video of Esaison reading the source text using 10 hashtags in his caption, one of them “#fakenews.”
Packers practice team quarterback Kurt Benkert joined the conversation shortly after. Rodgers asked Benkert if he was the source that sent Esaison the message, and Benkert played along, even calling himself Benedict Arnold.
Then Packers backup quarterback Jordan Love chimed in and said he was the source. Rodgers also made fun of Love.
Rodgers is not vaccinated, as was clear when he tested positive for the virus in early November. The Packers quarterback was criticized for his earlier statement that he was “immunized.” Since testing positive, Rodgers has not held back his comments on COVID-19 and how the NFL handles it.
Esaison and Giannotti are playing a dangerous game by relaying information from vague sources to the world, especially around Aaron Rodgers. The Packers quarterback has disagreed with various publications and members of the media over perceived misinformation surrounding the effect COVID-19 had on his injured finger and its worth for the NFL MVP award based on the state of vaccination.
Esaison and Giannotti’s latest mistake is another firewood for Rodgers.
Although the Packers earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC, Rodgers will continue to start Sunday against the Lions in the Packers’ final game of the regular season this year.