Insufferable Aaron Rodgers won't stop talking about his immunization

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers spent the early portion of his career in the shadows. Even as questions swirled regarding his leadership and his personal relationships, Rodgers remained quiet. For the most part, he let his game do the talking. Rodgers quickly stomped out any whispers and narratives by astonishing onlookers with his hair-trigger release and pinpoint accuracy on the field.

At the time, his most iconic off-field moment was from a press conference in 2014. After the Green Bay Packers lost two of their first three games, Rodgers had a simple and prescient message for fans: R-E-L-A-X. The Packers won nine of the next 10 games and finished the season with a 12-4 record. These days, Rodgers' messages are perceived as preposterous rather than prescient.

Whether anyone likes it or not, Rodgers has become more willing to share his personality in the twilight of his career.

The latest news surrounding the four-time NFL MVP quarterback revolves around a new biography, "Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers," by author Ian O'Connor.

Aaron Rodgers regrets 'immunized' comments during pandemic

ESPN shared some tidbits from the biography, which includes O'Connor's personal conversations with Rodgers. In the biography, the 40-year-old quarterback expressed regret about how he handled his vaccination status. Apparently, Rodgers seems to believe the vaccination controversy is the only legitimate flaw that critics can use to attack him.

"If there's one thing I wish could have gone different, it's that, because that's the only thing [critics] could hit me with," Rodgers said in the book.

In November 2021, Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 as an unvaccinated player, which sidelined him for 10 days during the regular season. He faced backlash for making misleading remarks three months earlier regarding his vaccination status.

At the time, Rodgers told reporters he had been "immunized." According to Rodgers, he said he was "immunized" instead of "unvaccinated" because he was appealing to have his homeopathic treatment qualify him for vaccination status under the NFL guidelines.

"But if I could do it again, I would have said [in August], 'F--- the appeal. I'm just going to tell them I'm allergic to [polyethylene glycol]. I'm not going to be vaxxed,'" Rodgers said in the book.

The new details regarding Rodgers vaccination status join a slew of non-football stories regarding the controversial quarterback. In January, Rodgers was critical of his teammates for allowing distractions into the locker room and demanded that the team “flush the bull----” and “focus on winning.”

"Anything in this building that we're doing that has nothing to do with winning needs to be assessed," Rodgers said. "Everything that we do has to have a purpose ... the (expletive) that has nothing to do with winning has to get out of the building."

Following the harsh criticism of the team, Rodgers spent the offseason flirting with a vice presidential bid, engaging in a blood feud with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, sharing controversial social commentary, and skipping mandatory team workouts for “an event.” Now, he appears willing to circle back to pandemic controversies.