When given a chance to defend himself for not being vaccinated, Rodgers claimed he had "an allergy to an ingredient that's in the mRNA vaccines". Had he stuck with this line of defense, he could have deflected some of the criticism that was to come. Sure, after the "immunized" debacle, Rodgers would not have gotten the benefit of the doubt that he would have been given a week earlier, but it would have been far more prudent than the path he did take directly off the rails.

Instead, Rodgers' interview featured an avalanche of anti-vaxxer buzzwords and all-too-familiar phrases, each one laying bare the hollowness of his disclaimer that he was not "anti-vax". You'll never guess it, but Rodgers did his own research with the aid of none other than conspiracy theory-minded podcaster Joe Rogan. He confirmed that his personal "immunization protocol" included ivermectin and then proceeded to rail against (yawn) "the woke mob" and "cancel culture". He even threw in a Martin Luther King Jr misquote, as if he were trying to pull off the Full Tucker Carlson.