{"id":154836,"date":"2021-11-03T22:13:35","date_gmt":"2021-11-03T23:13:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=154836"},"modified":"2021-11-04T05:04:48","modified_gmt":"2021-11-04T05:04:48","slug":"superstar-mvp-caught-up-in-nasty-covid-lie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=154836","title":{"rendered":"Superstar MVP caught up in 'nasty' COVID 'lie'"},"content":{"rendered":"

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers<\/a> is in the NFL\u2019s COVID-19 protocol and will miss this weekend's game at Kansas City.<\/p>\n

Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur confirmed that Rodgers was in the protocol, but would not say if Rodgers had tested positive nor if the reigning NFL MVP has been vaccinated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to get into any of our coaches\u2019 or players\u2019 vaccination status,\u201d LaFleur said.<\/p>\n

LaFleur also didn't speculate on how long Rodgers might be out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just know that he won\u2019t be available this week,\u201d LaFleur said. \u201cAnd we have a great opponent we\u2019re going against, and then we\u2019ll address next week when we get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodgers is the latest Packers player to deal with the coronavirus. Wide receivers Davante Adams, a 2020 All-Pro, and Allen Lazard missed last week\u2019s victory at Arizona because of COVID-19 protocols.<\/p>\n

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Vaccinated players who test positive are allowed to return after they have two negative tests that are taken at least 24 hours apart. Unvaccinated players who test positive are isolated for at least 10 days.<\/p>\n

Sources told NFL Media that Rodgers has not received one of the COVID-19 vaccines.<\/p>\n

Rodgers was asked at an August 26 media session whether he had been vaccinated.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I\u2019ve been immunised,\u201d Rodgers replied. \u201cYou know, there\u2019s a lot of conversation around it, around the league, and a lot of guys who have made statements and not made statements, owners who have made statements. There\u2019s guys on the team that haven\u2019t been vaccinated. I think it\u2019s a personal decision. I\u2019m not going to judge those guys. There are guys that\u2019ve been vaccinated that have contracted COVID. It\u2019s an interesting issue that I think we\u2019re going to see played out the entire season.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Rodgers previously had sought and was denied an exemption from the NFL-NFLPA COVID-19 protocols based on his antibody levels in the offseason, which left his status as unvaccinated, NFL Media reported.<\/p>\n

Rodgers received homeopathic treatment from his personal doctor to raise his antibody levels and asked the NFLPA to review his status.<\/p>\n

However the NFL-NFLPA jointly designated infectious disease consultant and the league agreed that Rodgers' treatment did not qualify for protection from the coronavirus.<\/p>\n

Last season's MVP remained subject to a variety of restrictions, including daily testing, mask-wearing and high-risk close contact protocol that would force him to isolate for five days based on interaction with a positive individual, even if he tested negative.<\/p>\n

The star's vaccination status has raised eyebrows in the US media, especially since Rodgers has attended several press conferences without a mask, in contravention of league protocols.<\/p>\n

\"Green<\/p>\n

In a statement, the NFL said: "The primary responsibility for enforcement of the COVID-19 protocols within club facilities rests with each club. Failure to properly enforce the protocols has resulted in discipline being assessed against individual clubs in the past. The league is aware of the current situation in Green Bay and will be reviewing the matter with the Packers."<\/p>\n

LaFleur was asked whether Rodgers' August 26 comment about being \u201cimmunised\u201d might be seen as misleading to fans if the quarterback was indeed unvaccinated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a great question for Aaron,\u201d LaFleur said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to comment on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Green Bay\u2019s backup quarterback is 2020 first-round draft pick Jordan Love, who has thrown seven passes in his short career.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/westonblasi\/status\/1455923763896373250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/CWilliamson44\/status\/1455916098818297864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n

The third-stringer, Kurt Benkert, is on the practice squad but was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list on Tuesday. That leaves Love as the lone available quarterback on Green Bay's roster, at least for now.<\/p>\n

Love\u2019s lone regular-season game appearances came when he played the fourth quarter of a 38-3 season-opening loss to New Orleans, and took three kneel-downs at the end of a 35-17 victory over Detroit. LaFleur said Love has been working primarily with the scout team since the start of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said (to the team), \u2018It\u2019s a great challenge. Nobody\u2019s going to feel sorry for us and we all have to prepare to the best of our ability to go down there and get a win,' \u201c LaFleur said. \u201dAnd that\u2019s the mindset. They\u2019re not going to postpone or cancel the game. We have a game to play and it\u2019s a next-man up mentality and that\u2019s how we\u2019ve operated for everybody. I think our guys will rally around Jordan. I\u2019ve got a lot of confidence in him and what a great opportunity for him to showcase what he can do."<\/p>\n

LaFleur said he had \u201cbriefly\u201d spoken with Rodgers since the news came out. He also talked with Love to let the second-year pro know to expect to start Sunday's game.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talk about having that no-flinch mentality and I didn\u2019t see any flinch in him,\u201d LaFleur said. \u201cI think he\u2019s excited about the opportunity. I think he\u2019ll prepare the right way and give it everything he has.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0clicking here!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is in the NFL\u2019s COVID-19 protocol and will miss this weekend's game at Kansas City. Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur confirmed […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154836"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=154836"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":154838,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154836\/revisions\/154838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=154836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=154836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=154836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}