If you have podophobia (a fear of feet), please turn back now, because, unfortunately, we must discuss Aaron Rodgers’s toe. Rodgers, the famously unvaccinated Green Bay Packers quarterback, has officially returned to the NFL after testing positive for COVID-19 and sitting out a game in quarantine, and on Sunday, he was already listed as having a toe injury. But it might not be what you think it is.
Contrary to popular belief, Aaron Rodgers does not have COVID toe. Last year, lesions on the toe, called pernio or chilblains, were a symptom linked to the virus — hence the “COVID toe” moniker — and were believed to be a sign of infection. So, on Tuesday, November 23, when Rodgers appeared on The Pat McAfee Show to discuss his COVID-19 experience and said he “didn’t have any lingering effects other than the COVID toe,” people took it seriously. But now, one Wall Street Journal article and a whole lot of talk later, Rodgers is clarifying his toe condition, saying it was just a joke.
“I can’t believe I have to, again, come on the air and talk about my medical information,” he said at a press conference Wednesday, one day after talking about his medical information on The Pat McAfee Show. During the press conference, Rodgers hoisted his bare foot in front of the camera to prove he didn’t have any lesions and explained that his injury was actually a fractured toe. “It’s just a classic case of disinformation,” he said, before turning on The Wall Street Journal. “Which is surprising coming from what used to be a reputable journalistic institution.”
Rodgers also said that he expected an apology from “Molly Knight and whoever her editor was.” One problem: Molly Knight does not work for The Wall Street Journal, nor did she write the article. Mere hours after Rodgers’s press conference, Knight was on Twitter setting the record straight and asking people to “stop all this hate.”
“I have no idea why Aaron Rodgers said my name in a press conference. I am only finding out now because it’s absolutely insane,” she wrote in a follow-up tweet. “I retweeted the WSJ article and then went to spin class then a homeless feed.” She also asked that Rodgers fans stop “harassing” her.
Rodgers has not yet commented on this little piece of disinformation, but he did change his Twitter profile photo to a close-up of his toes.
