Aaron Rodgers triggers COVID-vax trolls, cites Big Lie vs. Biden: retiring after NFL playoff exit? | Marcus Hayes

Hell hath no fury like a liberal scorned.

Progressives pounced on former prog-darling turned anti-vaxxer Aaron Rodgers this weekend after he and his Packers lost their NFL playoff game. The woke-mob internet turned its full wrath toward A-Rod with a heat usually reserved for Florida politicians and election conspiracists, which Rodgers seems to be. He recently called President Joe Biden’s administration a “fake White House,” parroting the Jan. 6 insurrection traitors. It’s pathetic to watch.

All weekend, Rodgers got dunked on like he was Charles Shackleford.

This online outcry was unprecedented, if not predictable; an entire bloc of generally sensible, empathetic folks found ecstasy at witnessing the greatest passer in history, who will probably win a fourth MVP award, lose perhaps the last game he’ll ever play. ”It’s going to be a tough decision,” he said after the game.

It’s fair to ask if all that rejoicing will contribute to Rodgers’ retirement decision. He is, after all, the biggest snowflake in Wisconsin.

We discovered Rodgers’ hypersensitivity this season when his true, relatively neutral colors surfaced. Millions of true-blue lefties felt betrayed by this superstar whom, they assumed, marched lockstep with their agenda ... only to find that Rodgers not only sided with the right-leaning anti-vaccine movement, but that he was willing to lie about his vaccination status to avoid criticism. Rodgers said he was “immunized” when asked if he’d been vaccinated. He then repeatedly violated COVID-19 protocols specific to unvaccinated players to hide his vaccination status.

His treachery was unmasked, so to speak, when he actually contracted COVID in November. His credibility then cratered when, during his quarantine, he spouted anti-science sewage about vaccination and mitigation that has lengthened the pandemic and, as a result, has cost the country hundreds of thousands of lives. Rodgers endorses people like Dr. Robert Malone, a virologist whose anti-vaccination crusade has gotten him banned from YouTube and Twitter for spreading vaccine misinformation. A-Rod’s all-in.

Rodgers’ COVID idiocy cost him a sponsorship with a physicians group. Even Jake from State Farm distanced himself for two weeks.

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Rodgers certainly is not alone on his mountain of ignorance, where also reside Nets guard Kyrie Irving, Bills receiver Cole Beasley, Hall of Fame NBA guard John Stockton, and, most significantly, Novak Djokovic, the No. 1 men’s tennis player in the world. Joker’s lack of vaccination and violation of protocols got him deported from Australia last week and cost him a shot at a record 21st major title.

Among them, only Rodgers went from hero to villain overnight. Why?

Because Rodgers spent the past few years presenting himself as a socially conscious and socially active athlete. He’s lent his voice to benevolent efforts in Africa and India, spoken out against religious bigotry, raised millions of dollars in wildfire relief money for his native Northern California region, and even endorsed Colin Kaepernick’s campaign to reenter the NFL.

Upon closer examination, though, Rodgers — the most prolific pitchman in America — never really dived into social justice issues with both feet. For instance, he declined invitations to join the Players Coalition in the wake of the Kaepernick saga, and he never marched during the George Floyd protests. Still, he did pretty well for a rich white guy with plenty to lose. In fact, he did just enough to create a passable progressive profile.

Then, he started listening to Joe Rogan and bragged about reading Ayn Rand.

Twitter can be a cruel and petty place, and the Twitter-ati produced some of their cruelest and pettiest work Saturday and Sunday, but many of those arrows slung at Rodgers deserve a place in the Louvre.

There was @RichardStaff, weaponizing the 49ers’ mediocre quarterback to defend Dr. Anthony Fauci, America’s COVID chief: “Congratulations to Jimmy Garoppolo on replacing Dr. Fauci as Aaron Rodgers’ least favorite Italian.”

The site @SBNation noted that Rodgers fell to 0-4 against San Francisco in the postseason, and chirped, “The only thing Aaron Rodgers hates more than science is playing against the 49ers.”

Rodgers’ popularity might have survived his refusal to get vaccinated, and even his cowardice in hiding his status, but his bizarre consultation with podcast provocateur Rogan, who amplified misinformation during his own COVID bout, did irreparable damage to Rodgers’ profile. They both ignored established doctors and CDC guidance and, instead, relied on their own research and crackpot cures on the internet. After San Francisco shut down Rodgers, @RKalland wasn’t going to let anyone forget that: “aaron rodgers should’ve done more of his own research on the 49ers defense.”

If you don’t think the vaccine debate is, at its root, political, then you haven’t been paying attention. Consider that @OccupyDemocrats, a Twitter account devoted to supporting progressives, took the time to roast Rodgers, too, saying “GOOD RIDDANCE” to the man who became the face of COVID denial.

Again, this is all remarkable because, while dozens of athletes have suffered far more and suffered far worse because of their public stances — Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King — never has an athlete’s stance on a matter like this turned him from beloved to reviled overnight.

Cruel? Sure. But he deserved it.

This backlash might be the issue that pushes Rodgers from a game he dominates, even at the age of 38. Tom Brady and Joe Montana might be better winners, but Rodgers is the most talented passer to ever share our atmosphere, and it’s not particularly close. But he’s very sensitive. And that might be the difference.

On Jan. 3, during his stint on ESPN’s in-game commentary show hosted by Peyton and Eli Manning, when asked about his reading habits, Rodgers pointed to a single book on his shelf: Ayn Rand’s libertarian fever dream, Atlas Shrugged.

I composed a viral tweet about Rodgers’ reading habits whose aftershocks so irritated Rodgers that he agreed to speak with ESPN.com, with the tweet as its centerpiece, to defend his descent into conspiracy culture. In the ESPN story, Rodgers claimed that he’d never actually read the book — which, considering the breadth of his views, their alignment with Rand’s, and his history of falsehoods, seems like another obvious lie.

During the interview Rodgers also ripped President Biden for citing statistics that clearly show the pandemic rages due to low vaccination rates and for suggesting Rodgers get vaccinated. Rodgers also misrepresented a statistic related to COVID deaths.

Why did Rodgers agree to the 28-minute interview? Because he craves your attention. He seeks your approval. He needs to be adored. He’s Narcissus in a Green Bay beanie.

Think about it. He appears on an ex-jock’s podcast every week, the wildly popular Pat McAfee Show, for no recompense. He’s been a Jeopardy! host, he taunts Bears fans, and he pretends to buckle a championship belt in celebration. He wants you to want him.

The libs wanted him. They did more than just welcome him to their tribe. They worshipped him — this entitled, soft-spoken alpha who belongs to the empowered race in America. He would, they assumed, agree with every item in their manifesto.

But all tribes fueled by passion instead of practicality — sorry, progressives — see rank treason when a major member displays any imperfection or any deviation from the accepted dogma.

To be fair, we should take anything Aaron Rodgers says or believes with a Lake Michigan-sized grain of salt. Consider: His explanation for having not read Atlas Shrugged is that he’s too dumb and too lazy. He disseminates his misinformation on a podcast run by a guy who wears a tank top and curses all the time.

Nevertheless, hell hath no fury like a liberal scorned.

Trust me. I know.