Aaron Rodgers returns to ESPN airwaves to take shot at ‘coward Tony Faucci’

“The Pat McAfee Show” aired live from Pittsburgh Steelers training camp on Monday with regular guest Aaron Rodgers joining the host for an interview. The Steelers quarterback is entering what he has said will be his final season before he retires from the NFL. With that in mind, McAfee began the interview by asking Rodgers, “Is everything better? Is everything funner? is everything more awesome?”

Rodgers responded to that question by saying, “I’m pleading the fifth.” As McAfee laughed, Rodgers then launched into a personal attack on Anthony Faucci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who was the subject of a contentious congressional hearing last week.

MORE: Aaron Rodgers says he battled flu-like illness before Steelers’ wild-card loss to Texans

“Like that absolute coward Tony Faucci,” said Rodgers. “Absolute coward. Are you kidding me? You got a pardon and your in front of the and you pleaded over 100 times? At the White House? What are you scared of Tony? I thought you were the science. I thought you… I am science? And how much did the network spend on that? How much time did they spend on my responses every week? On my vaccination status? On Taylor and Travis’s wedding? Did they do even a minute? Did they do even a minute on Tony Faucci? No, I bet they didn’t.”

Rodgers also questioned McAfee about ESPN’s coverage of the Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel story. McAfee’s responses varied from laughter to “my network?” All-in-all, a great couple minutes of content to appear on ESPN if you’re writing about sports media.

It’s unclear what ESPN thinks about something like this being said on their airwaves, but McAfee certainly appreciates the value of such viral remarks by Rodgers since his social media team posted official video on his X account. He is, after all, just providing Rodgers with a platform to say stuff.

— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter —