Yeah, I’ve been immunized: Objectivity, ignorance, and privilege in media coverage of Aaron Rodgers’ COVID-19 vaccine refusal

Abstract

During a team press conference in August 2021, then-Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers claimed he had been ‘immunized,’ which implied he had taken a COVID-19 vaccine. He later admitted he was not vaccinated and sparked a debate in the news and popular media. This study builds on the epistemology of ignorance, science controversy, sports mythmaking, and fake news to explore news coverage of professional athletes, the COVID-19 pandemic, and vaccination. Thematic discourse analysis helped position the narratives built around Aaron Rodgers’ statements, attitudes, and behaviors on the continuum between vaccine hesitancy and discursive manipulation. The findings reveal evolving perspectives of social issues related to managing social responsibility of professional athletes and call for sharper interrogations of the dynamics of power, privilege, and agency among key opinion leaders at the intersection of sports, journalism, and society.