On Tuesday, Hub Arkush of Pro Football Weekly called Aaron Rodgers the “biggest jerk in the league” and that he would not give the quarterback his vote for Most Valuable Player because of his drama filled offseason last summer. On Wednesday, the Green Bay Packers veteran fired back during his weekly press conference with local reporters.

“I think he’s a bum. I think he’s an absolute bum,” Rodgers said of Arkush. “He doesn’t know me. I don’t know who he is. No one knew who he was probably until yesterday’s comments. I listened to the comments but to say he had his mind made up in the summer time, in the offseason that I had zero chance of winning MVP, in my opinion should exclude future votes.”

Rodgers was criticized earlier this season when it became public knowledge that he wasn’t vaccinated against COVID-19 despite saying during training camp he was immunized. He took responsibility for misleading on his status but stood by his decision to not to get vaccinated.

“(Arkush’s) problem isn’t with me being a bad guy or the biggest jerk in the league,” Rodgers said. “He doesn’t know me. He doesn’t know anything about me. I’ve never met him. I’ve never had lunch with him. I’ve never had an interview with him. His problem is I’m not vaccinated. So if he wants to go on a crusade and collude and come up with an extra letter to put on the award just for this season and make it the Most Valuable Vaccinated Player, then he should do that. But he’s a bum and I’m not going to waste any time worrying about that stuff. He has no idea who I am, he’s never talked to me in his life.”

The three-time MVP has become the favorite to earn his fourth award by throwing 18 touchdowns and no interceptions in the last six games as the Packers clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC, homefield advantage in the playoffs and a first-round bye.