Mike McCarthy, Steelers respond to Aaron Rodgers’ Fauci criticism

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers made comments critical of Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. health official during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy addressed Rodgers’ comments during a media availability. The team also released a statement.

“These are grown men. They all have different opinions. There’s no question about that,” McCarthy said. “But at the end of the day, my job is to keep it about football, keep the focus on winning. That’s why we’re here. We have a good locker room. We have a player council that’s in place. We had our second meeting yesterday. We’re in a good spot.”

Steelers spokesperson Burt Lauten shared a statement with The Athletic: “Discussions around culture and politics can bring differing perspectives, and our players are entitled to their own personal views. With respect to that, I am certain there are a variety of opinions on many topics within our locker room.”

Rodgers joined The Pat McAfee Show for nearly 30 minutes, with the first seven minutes broadcast on ESPN. The remainder of the interview was carried only on a digital platform.

The interview began with McAfee asking Rodgers about his mindset coming into the quarterback’s season.

“I’m going to plead the fifth,” Rodgers said, with a smile. “Like that absolute coward, Tony Fauci. Absolute coward.”

Fauci served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022, leading the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rodgers’ answer to McAfee’s was in reference to Fauci invoking the Fifth Amendment in response to all questions during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee last week.

“Are you kidding me?” Rodgers continued. “You got a pardon and you pleaded over 100 times at the White House? What are you scared of, Tony? I thought you were the science. I thought, ‘I am science,’ and you get up there and you can’t answer a question? What are we doing?” (In a 2021 interview with Face The Nation, Fauci said, ‘I represent science.”)

Rodgers went on to criticize ESPN’s coverage of his decision not to get the COVID-19 vaccine during the 2021 season (when asked about his vaccination status that August, Rodgers told reporters he was “immunized”), comparing it to the lack of coverage of recent developments involving Fauci. Rodgers also criticized what he perceives as the network’s lack of coverage of the scandal involving Dianna Russini, former NFL reporter for ESPN and The Athletic. Photos of Russini and New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel holding hands, hugging and sitting together in a hot tub at an Arizona resort were published by the New York Post in March. (Russini, who denied being in a romantic relationship with Vrabel, resigned from The Athletic in April.)

“What are you going to say about me now?” Rodgers said.

Throughout the remainder of the interview, Rodgers circled back to criticizing Fauci, the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols, ESPN and the Russini scandal. An ESPN spokesperson declined comment on Rodgers’ criticism of the network. The Athletic has reached out to Dr. Fauci for comment through his attorney, and will update this story if he responds.

Rodgers has been critical of Fauci over the years, including in a 2023 interview on The Pat McAfee Show during a conversation about his recovery from an Achilles tear.

“If science is Dr. Fauci, you’re damn right I’m defying science,” Rodgers said.

Before that, in another appearance on McAfee, Rodgers called Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce “Mr. Pfizer” for appearing in a Pfizer commercial advocating for people to get flu and COVID-19 vaccines. He challenged Kelce to a debate, suggesting Rodgers team up with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a self-described “vaccine skeptic” who is currently serving as the United States secretary of health and human services.

Rodgers appeared weekly on The Pat McAfee Show during his time with the New York Jets in 2023 and 2024. He did not continue his weekly appearances last season, his first with the Steelers.

In May, Rodgers said 2026 will be his final NFL season.