Do we like Aaron Rodgers?
Our score: 3 out of 10. Real harm in his own words on vaccines and trans women, set against genuine, repeated disaster-relief giving in his hometown.
Rodgers is a Chico, California kid who became one of the best quarterbacks the NFL has seen. He spent 13 seasons at Green Bay, won a Super Bowl after the 2010 season and has four MVP awards. In 2026 he is back in Pittsburgh for what he says is his final season, reunited with his old Packers coach Mike McCarthy.
The vaccine saga is the one that turned a sports story into a culture-war one. In 2021 he said he was “immunized” when asked about his vaccination status, then it emerged he hadn't had the shot. He admitted he “misled some people” and said he takes responsibility, but he also claimed a “woke mob” was targeting him.
Then there's the Kimmel stoush. In January 2024 he said on McAfee's show that Jimmy Kimmel was among people hoping the Epstein list stayed sealed. Kimmel denied it, said he's not on the list and threatened court. Rodgers said he was “glad” Kimmel wasn't on it, but didn't apologise.
On Sandy Hook, CNN reported in March 2024 that Rodgers had privately promoted a false conspiracy theory about the shooting. CNN's Pamela Brown said he told her about it at a 2013 party. That's an allegation, not a finding. Rodgers denied it, calling the shooting “an absolute tragedy” and saying he has never thought it didn't happen.
The harm check on women and trans people is thinner but clear. On Rogan in May 2025 he said the trans women movement is “actually anti-woman” and put it down to biology. Add the vaccine grievance and the August 2026 Fauci blast, where ABC reported he accused officials of holding back early COVID treatments. He keeps taking those stages, and Rand Paul cheering him on says plenty.
The recent bit: on McAfee's show he said Fauci had been pardoned and had invoked the Fifth many times, asking “I thought you were science?” The Steelers' line was that players are entitled to their own views. It's the same grievance he's been running since 2021, just with the retirement tour as a backdrop.