As information broke that Antonio Brown had been suspended three video games for misrepresenting his vaccination standing, it left individuals questioning why Aaron Rodgers didn’t face the identical destiny.
Final month, the Bucs huge receiver was accused by a former live-in chef of acquiring a pretend vaccination card in an obvious try and duck the NFL’s vaccine protocols. As Sports activities Illustrated‘s Conor Orr wrote, “this can be a felony offense in sure states because the falsifying of the doc must embody the forging of presidency seals.”
“Tampa Bay’s Antonio Brown and Mike Edwards have every been suspended with out pay for the subsequent three video games,” the NFL’s announcement says. “Free agent John Franklin III, if signed by a membership, can be ineligible to play within the subsequent three video games. All three gamers have accepted the self-discipline and waived their proper of enchantment. The suspensions are efficient instantly.”
In the meantime, Packers quarterback Rodgers examined optimistic for COVID-19, but throughout the offseason, he instructed reporters he was “immunized.” All through the season, he did attend press conferences maskless, saying on The Pat McAfee Present, “Among the guidelines to me should not based mostly in science in any respect. They’re based mostly purely in attempting to out and disgrace individuals. Like needing to put on a masks at a podium when each individual within the room is vaccinated and carrying a masks is unnecessary to me.”
In response to claims he didn’t comply with protocols for unvaccinated gamers, Rodgers mentioned: “I’ve adopted each single protocol to a T, minus the one I simply talked about, which makes completely no sense to me.”
As Orr beforehand reported, it was not solely clear if Rodgers broke league protocols in these situations.
Rodgers reportedly solely acquired a $14,650 fantastic, together with huge receiver Allen Lazard, as a result of the pair attended a Halloween social gathering, per Mark Maske of The Washington Post. The league additionally reportedly issued a $300,000 fantastic to the Packers for violating the COVID-19 protocols established by the NFL and the NFL Gamers Affiliation, in line with ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
One of many main sticking factors between the 2 circumstances is whether or not they operated beneath their given COVID-19 vaccination standing. Rodgers largely did, as he talked about on The Pat McAfee Present, whereas Brown operated as a vaccinated participant. Though his lawyer says the huge receiver is vaccinated, it is unknown when that occurred.
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