Travis Kelce Laughs off Jab By Aaron Rodgers But Kareem Takes a Shot at Ex-Cal QB

Rodgers calls Chiefs tight end `Mr Pfizer' because Kelce is promoting the COVID-19 booster.

Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce, who has been in the news recently as Taylor Swift’s romantic interest, mostly laughed off being teased by Aaron Rogers about his efforts to promote the latest COVID-19 booster.

Rodgers, in his regular appearance on the Pat McAfee show, referred to Kelce as “Mr. Pfizer.”

It was a reference to the “Two things at once” commercial that Kelce and his mother made to encourage people to get flu and COVID vaccines.

Unable to play for the New York Jets after tearing his Achilles tendon, the former Cal quarterback nonetheless was encouraged by the squad’s 23-20 defeat to the powerhouse Chiefs last Sunday.

“(It was a) moral victory out there… that we hung with the champs and that our defense played well, and Pat (Mahomes) didn’t have a crazy game,” Rodgers told McAfee. “And Mr. Pfizer—we kind of shut him down. He didn’t have his crazy impact game.”

Travis Kelce / TikTok

McAfee chuckled when asked about Rodgers’ jab.

“I thought it was pretty good. Who knew I’d get into the vax wars with Aaron Rodgers, man?” Kelce said in a news conference. “Mr. Pfizer vs. the Johnson and Johnson family over there.

“I stand by it, 1,000 percent and fully comfortable with him calling me Mr. Pfizer.”

The Johnson and Johnson reference was to Jets owner Woody Johnson, heir to the Johnson and Johnson company, also a major vaccine producer.

If Kelce let Rodgers’ remarks roll of his shoulder, basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar delivered a sharp rebuke of Rodgers’ position in his weekly substack newsletter.

Here’s how Abdul-Jabbar introduced the topic this week:

Infamously, Rodgers has spent the past two years of the pandemic spewing anti-vax views and spreading misinformation on several platforms.

The quarterback initially refused to get vaccinated for COVID, claiming that he was allergic to one of the vaccine’s ingredients. Instead, he confusingly stated that he was “immunized.” When Rodgers eventually got the virus, he told McAfee that he was taking Ivermectin—which has not been proven to combat COVID—under the instruction of Joe Rogan.

Then, as he does with all topics he tackles in his column, Abdul-Jabbar provides his reaction to the story, including a criticism of Rodgers and a compliment to Kelce:

MY TAKE: Sometimes it’s difficult for people to separate admiring the athletic or artistic abilities of someone from their lame social and political opinions. Picasso was an artistic genius, but a misogynist jerk. Phillies’ Ben Chapman might have been an effective manager, but he was also prone to giving Nazi salutes to Jewish fans and firing racial slurs at Jackie Robinson.

Back in 2021, I wrote about Aaron Rodgers’ misinformation about COVID-19 and his lack of responsibility as a celebrity athlete with many followers (“Aaron Rodgers Didn't Just Lie: His lies, his illogical defense, and his hubris damage all professional athletes”). This was in the middle of the pandemic when vaccine hesitancy promoted by people like Rodgers and Joe Rogan undoubtedly contributed to people getting sick and even dying. I’m shocked by such displays of entitled arrogance when millionaires like them with unlimited healthcare resources advise those who can’t afford more than basic medical treatment.

But what’s especially disturbing about Rodgers is his inability to learn, to grow, to apply even the most basic level of critical thinking, which is essential when you are a celebrity that can influence millions of people. Especially the young and especially when it could be life and death.

With just the barest of effort, Rodgers could have discovered that one 2022 study estimated COVID-19 vaccines have saved 20 million lives. Another study found, “From December 2020 through November 2022, we estimate that the COVID-19 vaccination program in the U.S. prevented more than 18.5 million additional hospitalizations and 3.2 million additional deaths. Without vaccination, there would have been nearly 120 million more COVID-19 infections.”

Instead of taking responsibility by educating himself with actual science, Rodgers prefers to mock Travis Kelce for supporting vaccines that have been proven to save lives. This tale of two athletes is a tale of how to embrace the responsibility that comes with celebrity—and how to abuse it.

Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by Robert Deutsch, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo