Terry Bradshaw criticizes Aaron Rodgers over COVID vaccine status: 'You lied to everyone'
Fox's NFL pregame show laid into Aaron Rodgers on Sunday.
The reigning NFL MVP was sidelined for Sunday's Green Bay Packers-Kansas City Chiefs showdown after he contracted COVID-19 and it was revealed that he wasn't vaccinated against the coronavirus.
His status contradicted his preseason proclamation of "yeah, I've been immunized" when he was asked if he was asked directly if he'd been vaccinated. His lack of a vaccination ensured that he couldn't play on Sunday per the NFL's COVID-19 protocols.
That he misled fans and media about his status made him a target of pointed criticism from Sunday's network talking heads. Fox's Terry Bradshaw, who won four Super Bowls as the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers and has previously placed Rodgers in his crosshairs, did not hold back while broadcasting from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
The moment @AaronRodgers12 lost Terry Bradshaw. “You lied to everyone.” pic.twitter.com/sJVxxTtQrU
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) November 7, 2021
"I'd give Aaron Rodgers some advice," Bradshaw said. "It would have been nice if he'd just come to the Naval Academy and learned how to be honest. Learned not to lie. Because that's what you did, Aaron. You lied to everyone. ...
"We are a divided nation politically. We are a divided nation on the COVID-19 whether or not to take the vaccine. And unfortunately, we've got players that pretty much think only about themselves. And I'm extremely disappointed in the actions of Aaron Rodgers."
While Bradshaw's criticism may have been the most pointed on Sunday, he certainly wasn't alone in calling Rodgers out. Bradshaw's studio mates Jimmy Johnson and Howie Long also criticized the Packers quarterback.
The discussion on FOX about the Rodgers situation
Jimmy: "I'm disappointed in his selfish actions."
Howie: "Possibly putting your teammates in jeopardy is selfish."
Terry: "Let me give Rodgers some advice, it be nice if he came to the Navel academy and learn how to be honest." pic.twitter.com/O9rT6kDNXm— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 7, 2021
"I respect his attitude toward being an individual," Johnson said. "But this is a team game. In all honesty, I'm disappointed in his play on words for his explanation. I'm disappointed in some of his selfish actions."
Long argued that Rodgers' decision wasn't "personal" because of the risk to spread COVID-19 to his teammates and his family.
"It ceases to be a personal decision when you take part in being part of a football team in a building with coaches, players, trainers, equipment managers," Long said. "And you run the risk of taking something home to your wife, your children, your grandchildren."
Michael Strahan, meanwhile, took issue with Rodgers invoking and misquoting Martin Luther King Jr. this week when attempting to defend himself, telling "The Pat McAfee Show": "The great MLK said you have a moral obligation to object to unjust rules and rules that make no sense."
"There are times to quote MLK and this was not one of them," Strahan said.
