Aaron Rodgers revived one of his most persistent public disputes by sharply criticizing former federal health official Anthony Fauci during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback was discussing the mindset he plans to carry into what he has described as his final NFL season when he jokingly said he would “plead the Fifth.”
He then directed the remark toward Fauci, calling him an “absolute coward” over his July 29 appearance before a Senate committee.
Rodgers also questioned why Fauci repeatedly invoked his constitutional protection against self-incrimination despite receiving a presidential pardon from former President Joe Biden.
The Comment Began as a Joke About Rodgers’ Final Season
View this post on Instagram
Rodgers appeared on the ESPN program from Steelers training camp in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on August 3. When McAfee asked how he was approaching the coming season, Rodgers responded, “I’m gonna plead the Fifth, like that absolute coward, Tony Fauci.”
He then criticized Fauci for declining to answer more than 100 questions during the hearing. “What are you scared of, Tony?” Rodgers asked, according to TMZ’s report on the segment.
Rodgers mocked Fauci’s prominent role in communicating federal scientific guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic and argued that the hearing deserved greater media attention.
Fauci Repeatedly Invoked the Fifth Amendment
View this post on Instagram
Fauci appeared under subpoena before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on July 29. The hearing examined the federal response to COVID-19, government funding of virus research and competing theories about how the pandemic began.
Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times, including when Republican senators asked basic questions about the date, his clothing and the hearing room.
He said he was acting on legal advice because committee chairman Rand Paul and other critics had publicly called for his prosecution and were attempting to obtain testimony that could be used against him.
Fauci accused Paul of conducting an “unhinged” campaign to imprison him and maintained that he had previously testified truthfully about pandemic policy and federally supported research.
Biden’s Pardon Does Not Completely Settle the Legal Question
Biden issued Fauci a preemptive federal pardon on January 19, 2025, covering possible offenses connected to his government service during a period beginning in 2014.
Paul and other Republican senators argued that the pardon removed Fauci’s ability to claim that answering questions about covered conduct could expose him to federal prosecution.
However, Reuters reported that courts have not resolved whether a witness who received a presidential pardon may still invoke the Fifth Amendment before Congress regarding the pardoned conduct.
Rodgers Criticized ESPN’s Pandemic Coverage
Rodgers expanded his comments into a complaint about the attention ESPN devoted to his COVID-19 vaccination status during the pandemic.
In 2021, Rodgers tested positive for the virus after previously telling reporters that he had been “immunized.” He later confirmed that he had not received a COVID-19 vaccine and criticized the league’s protocols for unvaccinated players.
During his latest appearance, he asked whether ESPN had spent even a minute discussing Fauci’s testimony after devoting extensive coverage to Rodgers’ own decisions. He also claimed that he had ultimately been on the correct side of the pandemic debate.
His Claim About COVID-19’s Origin Is Not Settled Fact
Rodgers declared during the segment that COVID-19 had been created in a Chinese laboratory and said the conclusion was no longer open to question. The origin of the virus remains unresolved. Reuters noted that the FBI and CIA have favored a laboratory-related origin, although the CIA expressed low confidence in its assessment.
Four other U.S. intelligence agencies and the National Intelligence Council have favored natural transmission from an animal, while scientific and intelligence reviews have not produced a universally accepted conclusion. Fauci has denied concealing evidence about the virus’s origins or misleading Congress about research funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Paul has introduced a resolution seeking to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions under subpoena. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is scheduled to vote on the resolution at 8:30 a.m. EDT on Thursday, August 6.