Unvaccinated baseball player defiant as he's barred from crossing border into Toronto: 'I'm not gonna let Canada tell me what I do and don't put in my body'



Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto — one of several players on the squad barred from crossing the border into Canada to play against the Toronto Blue Jays this week because he's unvaccinated against COVID-19 — was defiant about the restriction placed upon him.

"I'm not gonna let Canada tell me what I do and don't put in my body," Realmuto told a reporter during a locker room interview about the subject.

What are the details?

Along with Realmuto, Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola, third baseman Alec Bohm, and starting pitcher Kyle Gibson are unvaccinated and didn't make the trip to Toronto, WCAU-TV reported. The Phillies lost Tuesday night to the Blue Jays 4-3 in the first of two games up north.

The station said players on this particular restricted list don't get paid, and Realmuto is forfeiting more than $262,000. But the money isn't what's on the catcher's mind.

"For a little bit of money, it's not worth it," he told a reporter.

Realmuto also explained his reasoning for not getting jabbed.

"I'm a healthy 31-year-old professional athlete, and I just didn't feel a need to get [the vaccine]," he said. "I've had COVID a couple of times [with] super-mild symptoms back when it first came out, and when it came time to decide whether I needed the vaccine or not, I talked with doctors that I knew, and I told them my story and just really decided I didn't think I needed it. I wasn't gonna take it just 'cause I was told to, basically."

\u201cJ.T. Realmuto on not being able to join the Phillies in Toronto due to his vaccination status:\u201d
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBC Sports Philadelphia) 1657593974

"It's an extremely unfortunate situation," Realmuto added. "Obviously, my teammates know how I feel about them, and how bad I want to be out there with them, but it's just unfortunate I'm not able to make the trip."

Realmuto's teammate Kyle Schwarber — who leads the National League with 28 home runs so far this season — told WCAU in a separate story that the club has the backs of every unvaccinated player.

“Just because we're headed to Toronto doesn’t mean someone is being a bad teammate because they didn’t get [the vaccine], right?” Schwarber told the station. “It all comes down to a personal decision. It’s unfortunate that Canada is not letting people in that will be in a controlled environment, but we can’t tell a government what to do."

Schwarber — who's headed to the All-Star Game and will participate in the arguably more popular Home Run Derby — added to WCAU that while he's vaccinated, "I don’t push it on people. It’s people’s own decision. If you want to get it, great. If you don’t, fine. I’m not going to treat you any differently, nor should anyone."

He also told the station that the decision Realmuto and other teammates made "kind of goes bigger than a game. It can go to your personal or religious beliefs. We’re playing a game. Guys have made decisions for themselves."

Anything else?

Vaccine status hasn't affected Major League Baseball players only. It's also loomed large in professional basketball — and not just because Canada is barring unvaccinated players, either. Remember the kerfuffle surrounding star Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving not being able to play in his own city?

Apparently the National Hockey League isn't experiencing such issues, as the league reported last fall that only four players were unvaccinated.

Also, Canada isn't the only vaccine-restrictive country. Superstar tennis player Novak Djokovic, coming off his fourth straight Wimbledon singles victory this weekend, is saying he has no plans to get the COVID-19 vaccine so he can enter the United States to play the U.S. Open in late August. For that decision, a tennis journalist ripped Djokovic as an "anti-vax posterboy."

Journalist rips tennis legend Novak Djokovic as 'anti-vax posterboy' — then gets blasted right back by Djokovic's wife for 'hatred and bullying'



A tennis journalist ripped Novak Djokovic as an "anti-vax posterboy" soon after the superstar player captured his fourth-straight Wimbledon singles title Sunday — after which Djokovic's wife hopped on Twitter to defend her husband and blast Ben Rothenberg for "hatred and bullying."

What's the background?

Djokovic was deported from Australia earlier this year due to his unvaccinated status, ESPN said, preventing him from competing in the Australian Open, a tournament he's won a record nine times.

The Serbian player had been granted a vaccine exemption by Tennis Australia, the country's governing body for the sport, and the the Victoria state government also approved his exemption. But the national government and the Australian Border Force overruled Djokovic's exemption and refused to sponsor his visa — and he was stopped at the Australian border and held in a room guarded by police after landing in Melbourne.

Following his Wimbledon victory Sunday, Djokovic said he won't get the COVID-19 vaccination that will allow him to enter the U.S. and play in the U.S. Open tournament, scheduled to begin at the end of August.

"I'm not vaccinated, and I'm not planning to get vaccinated, so the only good news I can have is them removing the mandated green vaccine card or whatever you call it to enter United States or exemption," Djokovic said, according to ESPN. "I don't know. I don't think exemption is realistically possible. If that is possibility, I don't know what exemption would be about. I don't know. I don't have much answers there."

'Anti-vax posterboy'

With that, Rothenberg — senior editor of Racquet magazine — called Djokovic an "anti-vax posterboy."

\u201cUnless there is a swift change in US immigration law, #Wimbledon will be Djokovic\u2019s last Grand Slam event of the year.\n\nUS requires vaccination for foreigners to enter, and Djokovic has firmly said he has ruled out getting vaccinated, entrenching himself as an anti-vax posterboy.\u201d
— Ben Rothenberg (@Ben Rothenberg) 1657471718

"Unless there is a swift change in US immigration law, #Wimbledon will be Djokovic’s last Grand Slam event of the year," Rothenberg tweeted. "US requires vaccination for foreigners to enter, and Djokovic has firmly said he has ruled out getting vaccinated, entrenching himself as an anti-vax posterboy."

Uh-oh

Well, Djokovic's wife didn't take kindly to the slight and hopped on Twitter to hit back at Rothenberg.

"Excuse me," Jelena Djokovic told the journalist. "Just making sure that it is noted that YOU tagged him as antivax poster boy for whatever reason you have. He simply responded [to] what HIS body choice is."

A few minutes later, Rothenberg tried to explain himself: "I understand that it's his choice, but I also am saying that his decision to be so firmly against the vaccines that it limits his ability to play tournaments has made him, unwittingly or not, into a huge icon of the anti-vax movement. I saw this very clearly during Australia."

Mrs. Djokovic wasn't buying it: "You are creating a very judgmental narrative that fits your agenda. He is simply choosing what’s best for his body. If he is not playing because of making that choice, he is fine with it."

"I can accept judgmental," Rothenberg replied. "I believe every citizen, especially public figures, had a duty to act responsibly with public health actions and messaging during the pandemic, and as someone who has covered Novak as the influential champion he is, he repeatedly disappointed me deeply."

Jelena Djokovic finished up things by calling out Rothenberg with sarcasm: "Thank you for sharing your beliefs. I hope you don’t get judged for them. Or become a poster boy for hatred and bullying. You never know. You are also influential figure, please don’t continuously disappoint. Unless that’s your role."

'You lied to everyone': Terry Bradshaw blasts unvaccinated Aaron Rodgers for saying he was 'immunized,' calls ivermectin 'cattle dewormer'



Legendary former NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw took current NFL star quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the verbal woodshed Sunday, ripping the unvaccinated Green Bay Packers' signal-caller for saying he was "immunized" against COVID-19 and then catching the virus.

What are the details?

Bradshaw made his statements about Rodgers in front of a cheering throng of cadets at U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, as "Fox NFL Sunday" broadcasted remotely from the military installation in the run-up to Veterans Day.

And Bradshaw can play to a crowd as well as he used to throw a football.

"I'd give Rodgers some advice: It would've been nice if he'd have just come to the Naval Academy and learn how to be honest," Bradshaw said, after which the camera switched to the cheering uniformed cadets, apparently loving the shout-out from the Hall of Famer.

Apparently affirmed, Bradshaw continued to scold Rodgers, telling him he should "learn not to lie because that's what you did, Aaron. You lied to everyone. I understand 'immunized,' but what you were doin' was taking stuff that would keep you from gettin' COVID-19 — you got COVID-19."

Bradshaw then repeated the falsehood that "ivermectin is a cattle dewormer; sorry, folks, that's what it is." What the former QB — and many others boasting large platforms — failed to say is that ivermectin is not a "cattle dewormer" when prescribed for human consumption by medical doctors.

"We are a divided nation politically. We are a divided nation on the COVID-19 — whether or not to take the vaccine — and unfortunately we got players that pretty much think only about themselves, and I'm extremely disappointed in the actions of Aaron Rodgers," Bradshaw added.

Bradshaw's comments begin at the 1-minute mark:

The discussion on FOX about the Rodgers situation\n\nJimmy: "I'm disappointed in his selfish actions."\n\nHowie: "Possibly putting your teammates in jeopardy is selfish."\n\nTerry: "Let me give Rodgers some advice, it be nice if he came to the Navel academy and learn how to be honest."pic.twitter.com/O9rT6kDNXm

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) 1636305317

It wasn't the first time Bradshaw maybe talked just a little bit too much.

In January he implied during a "Fox NFL Sunday" broadcast that co-hosts and fellow Hall of Famers Michael Strahan and Howie Long used steroids during their careers — after which Bradshaw apologized.

In 2019, he apologized to fellow "Masked Singer" judge Ken Jeong for calling him "the little short guy from Japan."

In 2012, Bradshaw apologized for saying during a "Fox NFL Sunday" show that running back Reggie Bush looked "like he was chasing a bucket of chicken" during a touchdown run.

What's the background?

Rodgers last week was barred from playing Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs due to testing positive for COVID-19. The Packers lost to the Chiefs 13-7 in Rodgers' absence.

Arguably the biggest issue was that Rodgers previously said he was "immunized" when he was unvaccinated.

On Friday, Rodgers explained on "The Pat McAfee Show" that he has an allergy to an ingredient in the mRNA vaccines and consulted with doctors on a personal protocol, which is what he meant by "immunized."

Rodgers added to the show's hosts that "everyone on the squad knew I was not vaccinated, everyone in the organization knew I wasn't vaccinated. I wasn't hiding it from anybody." He added that he wanted the issue "to go away" and to avoid ongoing chatter about it.

He also said some media members knew he wasn't vaccinated and were "sitting on it for a couple of months."

'Woke mob' is conducting a 'witch hunt'

In addition, Rodgers blasted leftists for being against vaccines under former President Donald Trump and then loving them once President Joe Biden took office — to the point where the "woke mob" is conducting a "witch hunt."

"When Trump in 2020 was champion[ing] these vaccines that were coming so quick, what did the left say?" Rodgers said. "And I'm talking about every member of the left: 'Don't trust the vaccine, don't get the vaccine, you're gonna die from the vaccine.' And then what happened? Biden wins, and everything flips. Shouldn't that initially give you a little bit of pause ... isn't this s**t about health and not about, like, politics?"

Indeed, the likes of Vice President Kamala Harris and MSNBC host Joy Reid are in that very left-wing camp of vaccine skeptics under Trump turned vaccine promoters under Biden.

Anything else?

During an appearance on McAfee's show last month, Rodgers absolutely destroyed the "woke mob" as well as "cancel culture" that's focused on "silencing" and "shrinking" others.

"Now the rules of the game are that you must acquiesce with the woke mob at all times. You must," he said, before bringing a little zen to the mix. "However, when you live above the game, the game does not exist — and, Pat, that's where I'm at. I'm not a part of this game that's being played. This game is being played out by these individuals. And I see it, I hear it, but to me it's comedy."

Aaron Rodgers blasts leftists for ripping vaccines under Trump then loving them under Biden — to the point where the 'woke mob' is conducting a 'witch hunt'



Green Bay Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers — barred from playing Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs due to testing positive for COVID-19 — went on the offensive Friday against the media, cancel culture, and the left-wing "woke mob" for going on a "witch hunt" against those, like himself, who are not vaccinated.

What are the details?

Rodgers appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show" and, among a number of other points, took it to the left for hypocrisy over the vaccines.

"When [then-President Donald] Trump in 2020 was champion[ing] these vaccines that were coming so quick, what did the left say?" Rodgers said. "And i'm talking about every member of the left: 'Don't trust the vaccine, don't get the vaccine, you're gonna die from the vaccine.' And then what happened? [President Joe] Biden wins, and everything flips. Shouldn't that initially give you a little bit of pause ... isn't this s**t about health and not about, like, politics?"

Content warning: Language:

Aaron Rodgers blasts hypocritical left flipping on vaccines:\n\n"When Trump in 2020 was championing these vaccines, what did the left say? Don't trust the vaccine. Don't get the vaccine...Biden wins and everything flips."pic.twitter.com/38xvCimSdI

— The First (@TheFirstonTV) 1636134953

Indeed, the likes of Vice President Kamala Harris and MSNBC host Joy Reid are in that very left-wing camp of vaccine-skeptics-under-Trump-turned-vaccine-promoters-under-Biden.

Rodgers also said the left now is conducting a "witch hunt" and want to "out and shame and denigrate every single person" who is unvaccinated.

"It is so political," he added.

Other issues

Rodgers added to the show's hosts that "everyone on the squad knew I was not vaccinated, everyone in the organization knew I wasn't vaccinated. I wasn't hiding it from anybody." He added that he wanted the issue "to go away" and avoid ongoing chatter about it.

He also said some media members knew he wasn't vaccinated and were "sitting on it for a couple of months."

In addition Rodgers — who had previously described himself as "immunized" — said he has an allergy to an ingredient in the mRNA vaccines and consulted with doctors on a personal protocol, which is what he meant by "immunized."

As for his present health state, Rodgers added that the left is "really gonna hate the fact that I'm 48 hours in [testing positive], and I consulted with a now-good friend of mine Joe Rogan" — who went through a media firestorm after catching COVID and recovering in days after taking therapeutics. Rodgers added that "I've been doing a lot of the stuff that [Rogan] recommended in his podcasts and ... I'm gonna have the best possible immunity now."

Rodgers said he's taking ivermectin to treat the virus — which USA Today characterized in its Rodgers story as "generally used to treat threadworms, roundworms and other parasites." Among the other therapeutics he said he's taking are zinc, vitamin C and D, and monoclonal antibodies.

"And I feel pretty incredible," Rodgers added.

Anything else?

Rodgers also explained in great detail the differences between how the NFL treats vaccinated and unvaccinated players — and that the latter get the short end of the stick.

He said the yellow bracelet he wears tells the world that "I'm unclean and unvaxxed."

More from USA Today:

Rogers said he has been tested daily per NFL protocol and said he was "in the cross hairs of the woke mob right now. So, before my final nail gets put in my cancel culture casket, I'd like to set the record straight on so many of the blatant lies out there. I tested for COVID over 300 times before testing for possible positive and I probably got it from a vaccinated player."

Here's the longer Rodgers segment.

Content warning: Language:

Aaron Rodgers Tells Pat McAfee His Side Of Vaccine Situationyoutu.be

Vaccine mandate ends season for iconic Los Angeles high school football program on eve of playoffs



A Los Angeles Unified School District mandate went into effect Sunday that requires students who want to play sports to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the Los Angeles Times reported.

And with that, Crenshaw High School's football team — which possesses a storied history as five-time city champions — saw its season abruptly end, the paper said.

Why?

The mandate states that football teams need at least 18 fully vaccinated players to compete, the Times said, but Crenshaw has only 13 players who are fully vaccinated. And that's "insufficient eligible players," according to a LAUSD statement, KTTV-TV reported.

The Cougars were supposed to face South East in the first round of the City Section Division 1 playoffs Friday, but that game isn't happening, the paper said, adding that South East automatically advances to the quarterfinals.

One Crenshaw player who did not get vaccinated told KTTV that the LAUSD vaccine mandate "kind of messed me over for scholarships and things like that."

Image source: KTTV-TV video screenshot

"Yeah, playoffs especially championship games, that's really where everything gets seen, and that's what i was hoping on," he noted to the station before looking dejected and shaking his head. "But fell short."

Crenshaw coach Robert Garrett told the Times he was informed Tuesday night that the Cougars didn't have enough eligible players to continue fielding a team.

"They knew last week that I was not going to have 18 kids," Garrett noted to the paper. "I played 15 kids. The other kids are there so they won't be on the street. They're there for social and emotional development."

Image source: KTTV-TV video screenshot

Parents aren't happy about what's transpired.

"It should be a free choice if you're gonna be vaccinated or not," parent Lala Brown told KTTV. "And if they are not vaccinated, there are people who don't agree with the vaccine but at least do some type of testing, and if people are negative then they should be able to play."

Image source: KTTV-TV video screenshot

Another parent said the vaccine mandate forced Crenshaw to "throw it all away for nothing" after a season of hard work, the station said.