Punt

 It was something I was looking forward to: The matchup between the up and coming superstar and the wily veteran. With all of my misplaced feelings of interest and allegiance, I was still full of anticipation for the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers. Patrick Mahomes going mano a mano with Aaron Rogers. Two Super Bowl MVPs, both of them bringing along supporting casts who would make the contest a treat to behold for football fans like myself. 

Then last week happened. Monday arrived with a positive test for Mister Rogers. Green Bay's quarterback would be sidelined with COVID-19. Then it got worse. Apparently Aaron Rogers had been telling his coaches and teammates that he had been vaccinated. He had not received one. Two. Or three. He had been playing alongside a team who had been subject to rigorous protocols put in place to keep these highly trained athletes healthy. And on the field. How had this breach occurred? 

Well, let's take a trip in the not-so-way-back-machine to August 26 of this year when Mister Rogers was asked directly if he had been vaccinated in a news conference. To this simple question, he gave a simple answer: "Yeah, I'm immunized."

Which turns out to be a lie. Which means he has been putting all his teammates, trainers, coaches and all those he came into contact with in danger of contracting the disease. In all those days between, the assumption was logically made based on this lie that he could move safely within a group of people who were in a similar boat. Had he asserted himself as an anti-vaxxer at that time or rolled out all the objections and reasons he had to the vaccination process, it is almost certain that accommodations would be made. Aaron Rogers is a star. He auditioned to be the host of Jeopardy. He makes all those amusing commercials for State Farm. 

He didn't do that. He lied. And then when he got sick, he didn't come clean and ask for understanding. Instead he lashed out at those who might criticize him for his choice. "I believe strongly in bodily autonomy and ability to make choices for your body: Not have to acquiesce to some woke culture or crazed group of individuals who say you have to do something. Health is not a one-size-fits-all for everybody." 

Health is not a one-size-fits-all, but truth is. 

The Kansas City Chiefs won the game. The Green Bay Packers lost. As an Aaron Rogers fan, I lost too. Just another lesson on the road to wellville.