The NFL has been under scrutiny for some time now in regards to how they have handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Two of their best players, Antonio Brown and Aaron Rodgers, are among the few who have chosen not to get vaccinated.
So, why has the Tampa Bay Buccaneer received a seemingly harsher punishment than the Green Bay Packers quarterback?
Jemele Hill, a sports journalist, decided to do a full-depth analysis on the topic. In her research, she came to the conclusion that Brown’s three-game suspension was a justified punishment for allegedly lying to the league about his vaccination status.
In November, a personal chef who worked for the wide receiver came forward with the information that Brown was allegedly seeking out a fake vaccination card. Although a legal representative for the 33-year-old has insisted that he is fully vaccinated, he still received a punishment from the league.
However, many people are questioning why Aaron Rodgers did not receive a harsher punishment, despite insinuating that he too was fully vaccinated. Since the football player did not wear a mask during press conferences, he was fined. But, he never faced a suspension from playing. According to Hill’s report, it is because he never lied to the NFL itself about his status as a vaccinated person.
Jemele Hill notes that Antonio Brown lied to his team, whereas Aaron Rodgers did not
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“Aaron Rodgers did not lie to the NFL and he did not lie to the Packers; they knew he was unvaccinated. He did lie to the media,” the journalist shared. She went on to explain, “at press conferences as an unvaccinated player, he’s either supposed to wear a mask or be on Zoom, and he did neither, which is why he got fined.”
Hill then elaborated on the case of Brown, touching on the fact that his supposed actions were a direct lie to his teammates. “He’s endangering his teammates, he’s endangering everybody around him. If he creates a COVID outbreak on that team, a team that is the reigning Super Bowl champion trying to defend their title again, that’s a completely different scenario,” she said.
“To try to pass off a fake vaccination card, it’s a crime,” Hill added before concluding, “He’s committing a crime and he’s lying and he’s endangering people, and I think that’s far more serious than what Aaron Rodgers did.”
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