Green Bay Packers star quarterback Aaron Rodgers slammed California’s COVID-19 restrictions in a podcast released Sunday, saying the state is “going to shit.”
In an episode of “Club Random with Bill Maher” released on Sunday, Rodgers lamented the changes in his home state, where he still reportedly owns a home.
“State’s going to shit, but I’m hanging on,” Rodgers told Maher, complaining that the strict social distancing rules and mask mandates affected business in his hometown of Chico.
“I grew up in a small town, very little cases up in Chico, Calif., but all the small businesses? F—ing gone,” the 38-year-old quarterback said. “I mean our favorite restaurants in LA, in New York, and across the country, not just in big cities, but some crazy percentage will never open again.”
Rodgers also called out California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) over proposed legislation AB-2098, which would designate medical officials who spread misinformation about COVID-19 as committing “unprofessional conduct.” The legislation was passed by the state’s Senate last month.
“I don’t believe the government should have any control over what we do with our bodies,” he added.
Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP, garnered headlines last season for his refusal to get vaccinated, and misleading comments before the season that he was “immunized.”
The former University of California standout is among a handful of top athletes, along with Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving and Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, who have been outspoken about their skepticism about COVID-19 vaccines and mandates.
During an appearance on a “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast episode last month, the quarterback thanked Rogan, another vaccine skeptic, for advising him on how to deal with COVID-19 when he tested positive in the middle of the season.
Rodgers also told Rogan he calculated his now infamous “immunized” response because he didn’t want to dodge the question outright, which would have conveyed his unvaccinated status.
“I thought there’s a possibility that I say, ‘I’m immunized,’ maybe they understand what that means, maybe they don’t. Maybe they follow up. They didn’t follow up,” Rodgers told Rogan. “So then I go [into] the season, them thinking, some of them, that I was vaccinated.”