Former United States Surgeon General Jerome Adams lambasted Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ comments about Travis Kelce.
Speaking on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday, Rodgers called Kelce “Mr. Pfizer,” seemingly making fun of the Chiefs’ superstar tight end’s inclusion in recent commercials and advertisements for the company’s COVID-19 vaccine.
“Player A: Takes unregulated psychedelics, out for season,” Adams, who served in former president Donald Trump’s administration, including during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, wrote in a since-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter). “Player B: Takes FDA approves vaccine, dominant on field, team winning, dating T Swift [sic] I’m no football expert any more than Aaron Rodgers is a doctor, but seems player B is ‘winning’,’ no?”
Adams was clearly implying Rodgers is Player A, while Kelce is Player B.
Rodgers has been open about his use of ayahuasca as well as other psychedelic drugs and alternative personal health choices, and he’s currently sidelined with a torn Achilles suffered just four offensive snaps into his Jets tenure.
Kelce’s newfound romantic relationship with Taylor Swift has taken both the football and celebrity world by storm, and his Chiefs are the reigning champions and enter Week 5 with a 3-1 record atop the AFC West.
“If you’re out for the season after making a number of well publicized and questionable choices about your own health, seems prudent not to criticize another player who is faring quite well with his health choices (including being vaccinated), no?” Adams wrote in another post, which he did not delete.
Adams then later explained why he deleted his original post.
“And btw [sic], I reposted this because many people (some intentionally) were missing the point,” Adams wrote. “Psychedelics haven’t been shown to cause Achilles tears anymore than vaccines have been shown to prompt dates with Taylor Swift.
“But people with a history of promoting dubious health measures (and whether you agree or disagree with his ‘regimen,’ you can’t argue that Rodger’s advocates for some unorthodox and largely unvetted practices) maybe shouldn’t criticize others promotion of FDA approved health measures- especially so when they themselves are suffering from a health ailment.”
Kelce laughed off Rodgers’ comment and pointed out that Rodgers’ checks are signed by Jets owner Woody Johnson, an heir to pharmaceutical company Johnson and Johnson that developed one of the early COVID-19 vaccines.
“I thought it was pretty good,” Kelce told reporters earlier this week. “With the ‘stache, I look like a guy named Mr. Pfizer. Who knew I’d get into vax wars with Aaron Rodgers, man? Mr. Pfizer versus the Johnson & Johnson family over there. …
“Once I got the vaccine — I got it because of keeping myself safe, my family safe and the people in this building [safe] — so yeah I stand by it. One thousand percent.”
Rodgers, after originally telling reporters he was “immunized” during the 2021 season, infamously later revealed that he was not vaccinated for COVID-19.