Aaron Rodgers used a press conference this week to go after Anthony Fauci over his 111 invocations of the Fifth Amendment despite receiving a presidential pardon.

Asked about his mindset heading into his final season, Rodgers said, "I'm going to plead the fifth," then turned the moment into an extended riff on Fauci, calling him a coward and pointing out that Fauci received a pardon yet still would not answer questions. Rodgers also noted the media attention given to his own vaccination status compared to the lack of coverage of Fauci's testimony.

Del and Jefferey pointed to the moment as part of a broader shift. Once athletes can openly joke about something that was previously untouchable, and comedians are doing the same, there is no going back. They named Kyrie Irving and Novak Djokovic as vindicated by the same cultural turn, calling this a small victory lap for athletes who took public positions on COVID policy early on.

@delbigtree