First they came for the man with the $33.5 million salary and I said nothing because I did not have a $33.5 million salary

It’s remarkable that merely being criticized for being a woo-infested lying dumbass is now a form of martyrdom, at least if you’re rich and famous enough:

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is painting himself as a victim after it was revealed this week that he got COVID-19 and is not vaccinated, despite his previous public claim that he was “immunized,” which he knew had been widely interpreted as getting the vaccine.

“I realize I’m in the crosshairs of the woke mob right now, so before the final nail gets put in my cancel culture casket, I’d like to set the record straight on some of the blatant lies that are out there about me now,” Rodgers said.

OK, we’re listening:

But Rodgers did not cite any specific “lies” that have been told about him. Instead, he launched into what he himself described as a “diatribe” about a “witch hunt going across the league.”

Rodgers claims to have done his own research and that he has an allergy to an ingredient in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, and he said that his decision to seek alternative treatments was “what was best for my body.” That is a highly dubious claim, but even if it were true, what Rodgers seems not to realize is that the decision to get vaccinated is not just about his own body but about the health and wellbeing of everyone around him. Rodgers chose to selfishly put people around him at an increased risk of catching COVID-19 from him.

What’s going to happen to Rodgers is basically nothing: as long as he remains asymptomatic he’ll miss just one game (BTW it’s unclear whether Green Bay will dock his salary for any games he misses; the team could definitely NOT do so, per the agreement with the NFLPA, if Rodgers had been vaccinated and got a breakthrough case. Because he’s unvaccinated the team could argue that it doesn’t owe him for any games missed because of COVID, although this would probably be challenged by the NFLPA and certainly by Rodgers himself).

Anyway, “woke mob” is now shorthand for any time anybody points out that somebody is being an idiot in some right wing or right wing-adjacent way. (Rodgers is a big fan of homeopathic treatments, and is also very concerned about chemtrails).

. . . Actual quote from Aaron Rodgers, who has done his own research: “If the vaccine is so great, how come people are still getting COVID?”

Nick never Nick in comments:

“I am so concerned about my health that I won’t get a safe vaccination that has been used in billions of people worldwide and which protects me from a new and unpredictable infectious disease that in addition to death has the potential to cause severe long-term disability.”

Also

“I play pro football.”