'His problem is I'm not vaccinated': Aaron Rodgers hits back at journalist who refused to vote for him as MVP and branded the Green Bay QB 'the biggest jerk in the league' for misleading the public by 'lying' about being jabbed and missing a game
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has lashed out at MVP voter Hub Arkush who publicly criticized him and branded him a 'jerk' for missing a game after his 'misleading' claims of being 'immunized' against Covid-19.
Rodgers says Chicago-based journalist Arkush - who holds an MVP vote - is 'a bum' who is targeting him because he remains unvaccinated.
The 38-year-old signal caller is favored to win a second consecutive MVP award, but Arkush, executive editor of Pro Football Weekly, is not voting for him because the QB is 'punishing his team, his organization and the fans' with his refusal to get injected.
In August, Rodgers cryptically claimed he was 'immunized,' leading many fans to assume he had received his COVID-19 vaccinations. However, he neglected to explain that he hadn't received a vaccine and was actually referring to a doctor-prescribed therapeutic treatment.
Rodgers's vaccination status was revealed in early November when he tested positive for coronavirus and was subsequently required to quarantine for 10 days — the minimum amount of time an unvaccinated player is asked to quarantine, per league rules at the time (the NFL recently cut the quarantine time down to five days, per CDC guidance).
That week, the Packers lost to the reigning AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs, 13-7.
Arkush's condemnation has provoked Rodgers into a public response, even though he has never met the Chicago sports broadcaster nor knew about him until his comments were aired.
Making his response to NFL reporter Dov Kleiman, Rodgers said: 'I think he's a bum. I think he's an absolute bum.
Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers hit back at MVP voter Hub Arkush (right) who branded him a 'jerk who was punishing his team-mates and fans after not taking Covid-19 vaccinations
'He doesn't know me. I don't know who he is, nobody knew who he was probably until yesterday's comments.
'I listened to the comments, but to say he had his mind made up in the summertime, in the offseason, that I had zero chance of winning MVP … In my opinion should exclude, you know, future votes.
'You know, his problem isn't with me being a bad guy or the biggest jerk in the league. He doesn't know me. He doesn't know me, doesn't know anything about me.
'I've never met him, I've never had lunch with him, I've never had an interview with him. His problem is I'm not vaccinated.'
Rodgers (right), seen wearing a mask during travel with his team, feels the latest criticisms are unfair and the MVP award should be specified to vaccinated players only
Arkush had stirred the pot with his remarks, which have reverberated around the sport and widely divided opinion - though later produced a comprehensive online apology following the media storm which follow.
In his full explanation for where his MVP vote would be going, Arkush had said of Rodgers: 'I don't think you can be the biggest jerk in the league and punish your team, and your organization and your fan base the way he did and be the Most Valuable Player.
'Has he been the most valuable on the field? Yeah, you could make that argument, but I don't think he is clearly that much more valuable than Jonathan Taylor or Cooper Kupp or maybe even Tom Brady. So, from where I sit, the rest of it is why he's not gonna be my choice.
'There's no guidelines,' Arkush added.
'We are told to pick the guy who we think is most valuable to his team. And I don't think it says anywhere, 'strictly on the field,' although I do think he hurt his team on the field by the way he acted off the field.
'They're gonna get the No. 1 seed anyway, but what if the difference had come down to the Chiefs game, where he lied about being vaccinated, ended up not playing and they got beat? I think all these things should be considerations.'
Chicago reporter Hub Arkash (right) pulled no punches when branding Rodgers 'a jerk' and said he would not be voting for him as the league's MVP
He went on to finish by noting that Rodgers' unvaccinated status is simply 'one more log on the fire.'
The Packers star was quick to suggest that an extra element should be added to the MVP award, if individuals are going to make the political element of vaccination status an influencing factor.
Rodgers added: 'So if he wants to go on a crusade, and collude, and come up with an extra letter to put on the award just for this season, and make it the most valuable vaccinated player, then he should do that.
'But he's a bum.'
Rodgers is the odds-on favorite to be the 2021 NFL MVP, which would be his second in a row and the fourth of his career.
If selected, Rodgers would be the first repeat winner of the award since the iconic Peyton Manning did it in 2008 and 2009.
No comments