“Aaron Rodgers is not stupid!” Stephen A. Smith defends Jets QB’s divisive vaccine views which is creating constant chatter in media

Rodgers shed more light on his reluctance to take the COVID vaccine, in his latest sitdown with Tucker Carlson.

“Aaron Rodgers is not stupid!” Stephen A. Smith defends Jets QB’s divisive vaccine views which is creating constant chatter in media

Stephen A. Smith and Aaron Rodgers (Image via IMAGO)

Some conflicts never end, such is the case with Aaron Rodgers and his beef with the COVID-19 vaccine. For the longest time, the quarterback has continued to be vocal about the blatant misinformation that is being spread concerning the vaccine. In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, Rodgers doubled down on his take on the vaccine and clarified why he was reluctant to take it.

His initial reasoning was that he was allergic to one of the ingredients present in the vaccine but in the recent interview, he justified his decision by claiming that taking a vaccine that was tested on a small sample size and not tested for a long period was dangerous. His comments on the podcast attracted a lot of backlash with fans critiquing him for thinking he was smarter than medical professionals. However, a surprising name came to the defense of Aaron Rodgers this time, it was none other than ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.

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On the latest iteration of the Stephen A. Smith Show, the analyst who has on previous occasions called Rodgers out over his take on the vaccine jumped to his support.

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Whether you agree with him or disagree with him, Aaron Rodgers is not stupid. He's not senseless. He's not the insensitive dude that people have excoriated him as being. At least some of what he says, if not a lot more than some of it, gets attached with enough legitimacy to it, that it will make you at least say, 'It's something we need to discuss.
Stephen A. Smith said

Smith believes this time, Rodgers is the smart one and that his takes have merit to them. He cannot be dismissed and his beliefs cannot be dubbed as being ‘stupid.’

Aaron Rodgers’ reluctance to take the vaccine a smart decision?

Stephen A. Smith is right as Rodgers’ concerns are legitimate. Pharma giant AstraZeneca recently withdrew its Vaxzevria vaccine citing a ‘decline in demand’ in the market. The vaccine’s efficacy has come into question and concerns about its side effects have been reported after a U.K. study found that it could lead to the formation of blood clots that could prove to be ‘devastating’ albeit ‘rare’ in nature.

Stephen A Smith had a special message for the New York Jets
Stephen A. Smith and Aaron Rodgers (via IMAGO)

Smith stated that it is high time that Aaron Rodgers is no longer criticized for his takes as some of them do have merit to them. His opinions on the vaccine sounded delusional at the time but after some of the earlier concerns expressed by him had some merit to them, people began to talk about it and consider the possibility of it being real.

We can no longer sit here and act like every word that comes out of Aaron Rodgers' mouth makes no sense and that he's completely clueless and he don't know what the hell he's talking about.
Stephen A. Smith added

Rodgers in the interview with Carlson pointed out the hypocrisy of the league and the pharma industry in general. He brought up the vaccine mandate and pointed out how all that everyone is interested in is following the money.

The NFL had initially imposed a zero-tolerance policy and mandated all players and staff to be vaccinated. The ones who refused to do so had to deal with additional protocols and had to be tested daily before entering the camp and being around their teammates. However, come playoff time, the league pretty much removed all the regulations. Rodgers believes this was because the NFL did not want to “ruin the money at that point” and to avoid any financial loss, the league removed testing as a whole.

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