It’s not uncommon for big businesses to protect their cash cows, especially when it benefits the proverbial financial bottom line, and no one is bigger in the TV industry than the NFL.
It takes quite the transgression before league Commissioner Roger Goodell will part ways with anyone who raises the credit limit of one of his owners (uh, employers).
Those facts aside, was anyone really surprised when Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers lied through his teeth and made a complete mockery of the NFL’s COVID-19 vaccination policy?
You know, the reigning League MVP and all-around nice guy who, when he’s not holding out for more guaranteed money, peddles (for a fee) everything from Wisconsin health providers to State Farm, with the latter deal making him quite the fortune.
Rodgers surprised everyone except the middle-aged anti-vaxxers who wear his replica jerseys to Packers home games by perpetuating falsehoods about his vaccination status and insane theories about why and how he went about it.
Along the way, he consulted with such clinical stalwarts as Joe Rogan and what Rodgers described as his own “medical team” to formulate alternative treatments that included, among other things, depriving a local Wisconsin horse of its ivermectin dosage.
By carefully choosing words such as “immunized,” he dodged the liar tag until he contracted the virus, most likely at a Halloween party where he was photographed unmasked.
The NFL has compounded the situation by giving him a miniscule fine and a protective mask with its logo on it.
They knew full well he wasn’t vaccinated, and they turned a blind eye to it in hopes that their show pony wouldn’t contract the virus.
Is Rodgers the only unvaccinated player in the league? Of course not. But you can place his name at the top of the “I lied about my vaccination status and I don’t care what you idiots think” list. The bigger problem is the NFL and the way it’s protected the clown.
You think there is medical privacy between the league and its players over this issue?
If you do, then either you don’t understand the iron fist that is the NFL or, like Rodgers, you simply don’t care as long as you can get your football fix.
What it boils down to is what entity oversees the NFL and its shady business practices? Uh, no one, and that’s the way they like it.
It has always been that way, whether it’s performance-enhancing drugs, domestic violence or concussions.
Rodgers is an important part of the financial tsunami, and they’ve got his back. Too bad they don’t care about those who Rodgers has likely infected as much as they do his ability to impact TV ratings.
Fining the Green Bay Packers $300,000 for Rodgers’ lack of integrity under their watch is laughable, but the team does have some obligation to police the mercurial and clearly delusional quarterback, but in reality, no employer can fully control the actions of an employee away from the job.
It’s not surprising that Rodgers has demonstrated selfish behavior and a disregard for other individuals’ health, and it’s certainly no surprise the NFL mounted a public relations campaign to absolve blame. All we really needed to know is now public, and once Rodgers tests negative for the virus he’ll be under center. But the reality is it could have all been avoided, and no one would’ve been unknowingly endangered.
For that to have happened, the lies would have stop and people would have to believe in modern medical science. Then again, that might get in the way of guaranteed contracts and the mountain of cash the NFL siphons daily. After all, why let a pandemic get in the way of all that wealth and prosperity in the name of sound health and honesty?
Danny Bridges, who has lied in his life before and is no better than Roger Goodell and Aaron Rodgers for it, can be reached at 317-370-8447 or at bridgeshd@aol.com.
