Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers admits to misleading media about Covid-19 vaccination status last season

By Ben Morse, CNN

Updated 0826 GMT (1626 HKT) August 29, 2022

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers during a preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

(CNN)Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers admitted to misleading the media about his Covid-19 vaccination status last season during an appearance on the 'Joe Rogan Podcast' on Saturday.

In August last year, Rodgers said he was «immunized» against the virus. A few months later, he missed an NFL game due to Covid-19 protocols and confirmed he was unvaccinated. But speaking to Rogan on Saturday, the four-time NFL Most Valuable Player admitted to purposefully misleading the media when asked about vaccination status. «I'd been ready the entire time for this question and had thought about how I wanted to answer it. And I had come to the conclusion I'm going to say: 'I've been immunized.' And if there's a follow-up, then talk about my process,» Rodgers explained to Rogan.«But, 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. So then I go the season them thinking — some of them — that I was vaccinated.Read MoreRodgers walks on the field before a preseason game against the New Orleans Saints.»Because the only follow up they asked was basically asking me to rip on my teammates, like: 'What do you say to your teammates who aren't vaccinated? What kind of example do you feel like you're setting to your teammates who are unvaccinated?' I said: 'Hey, it's everybody's own decision with their body.'"Rodgers told Rogan that he remembers thinking «if I contracted Covid or if word got out, because it's the NFL and there's leaks everywhere, it was possible I'd