Packers fined $300K, Aaron Rodgers hit with $14K for violating NFL's COVID-19 protocols
Packers were also made aware that future violations could result in more discipline, including possible change of draft position or loss of draft picks
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The NFL fined the Green Bay Packers $300,000 for violating the league’s COVID-19 protocols.
The league also handed down $14,650 in fines to quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver Allen Lazard on Tuesday for attending a Halloween party while unvaccinated. The fines for violating the protocols were agreed upon by the NFL and NFL Players Association.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) is shown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, in Glendale, Ariz. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is in the NFL’s COVID-19 protocol and will miss Sunday’s game at Kansas City. Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur confirmed Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, that Rodgers was in the protocol, but would not say if Rodgers had tested positive nor if the reigning NFL MVP has been vaccinated. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The Packers were also made aware that future violations could result in more discipline, including a possible change of draft position or loss of draft picks.
During his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday afternoon, Rodgers addressed the fallout from his latest interview after testing positive for COVID-19, saying he takes "responsibility" for misleading fans with ‘immunized’ comments but added that it’s time for him to focus on football again.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) hands the ball off to running back A.J. Dillon during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
"I know this is a difficult time for so many people dealing with COVID. It’s been a tough two years for a lot of people. This has definitely been a time of a lot of reflection. I’ve had time to think about a lot of things in my silence here, in my quarantine inside — obviously in Green Bay, not in L.A. as was reported," Rodgers said in reference to paparazzi pictures that surfaced on Monday that misidentified him. "I have been at my house for quarantine."
"Jokes aside, I understand that people are suffering and that this has been a really difficult time for the last two years on so many people. I think we all know individuals who have lost their lives personally, people who have lost their business, their livelihoods. Their way of life has been altered completely, and I empathize with those things."
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers scrambles during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Rodgers continued: "And I also know how sports can be such a connector and bring people together during times of adversity, and I do realize I am a role model to a lot of people, and so I just wanted to start out the show by acknowledging that I made some comments that people might have felt were misleading. To anybody that felt misled by those comments, I take full responsibility for those comments."
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Rodgers also had a message for those either for or against his decision on the vaccine: "I’m an athlete. I'm not an activist. So I’m gonna get back to doing what I do best, and that’s playing ball."
Rodgers said he’s hopeful that he can rejoin the team on Saturday and be available for Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks and that any further discussion regarding his health will remain between him and his doctors.