Stephen A. Smith Spits Fire At 'Embarrassment' Aaron Rodgers' Vaccine Deception

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith went scorched earth on Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers  on Monday for his messy attempt to defend himself after lying about his coronavirus vaccination status.

Rodgers, who had told reporters in August that he’d been “immunized” against COVID-19, tested positive for COVID-19  last week. He admitted in an interview Friday on SiriusXM’s “The Pat McAfee Show ” that he was unvaccinated, offered an assortment of vaccine falsehoods and said he’d been taking medical advice from his friend, podcaster Joe Rogan.

“If Aaron Rodgers is watching this interview ...” Smith said in a clip posted on his social media Monday. “You came across as a national embarrassment. There is no other way around it. It was the most embarrassing performance of Aaron Rodgers’ career, period.”

Smith then gave a list of reasons. He said Rodgers should have said what he said last week on the radio back in August, when he was first asked by reporters if he’d been vaccinated.

Next, Smith questioned the NFL player’s assertion that he didn’t lie when he said, “Yeah, I’m immunized” in response to a question about his vaccination status.

“OK, Aaron Rogers, how about deliberately deceitful, does that work? Does that work? Because you knew that you didn’t take the Pfizer, the Moderna or the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and you knew in the eyes of the NFL that was the stipulation under which you were declared vaccinated or unvaccinated.”

And Smith accused Rodgers of lying in order to avoid scrutiny.

“So you couldn’t take the heat. Well, how does that translate to other things?” he asked.

Rodgers, who was being tested daily as part of the NFL protocol for the unvaccinated, is out of action for 10 days due to his diagnosis, meaning he missed Sunday’s game at Kansas City, which the Packers lost to the Chiefs. Rodgers must test negative for COVID before he can return to his team on Saturday.