By Andrew Phelan via The Daily Signal | August 05, 2026
A week ago, attorney David Schertler found himself being escorted out of a Senate hearing after disrupting proceedings in defense of his client, Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Now, Fauci’s attorney is once again speaking out in defense of the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases—this time in response to criticism from Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
“Aaron Rodgers doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He should stick to football,” Schertler wrote in a response to The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf.
On Monday, Rodgers appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show,” during which he unleashed a tirade of criticisms against the polarizing Fauci.
Rodgers focused his criticisms on Fauci’s recently released diary notes and decision to “plead the Fifth” on advice of his legal counsel, which resulted in him using the phrase 111 times throughout the Senate hearing.
During his conversation with McAfee, Rodgers jokingly “pleaded the Fifth” when asked about how he felt going into the upcoming season. He also called Fauci, who faces a contempt of Congress vote Thursday morning, a “coward” as well as an “absolute criminal.”
“Are you kidding me?” Rodgers exclaimed during the interview with McAfee. “You got a pardon and you plead [the Fifth] over a hundred times? What are you scared of, Tony? I thought you were the science. ‘I am science,’ and he can’t get up there and answer a question?”
Schertler, speaking last Wednesday at the Senate hearing, told reporters after being kicked out by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., that “[Fauci] has a valid Fifth Amendment privilege, and he has the right to assert it and that’s all I was trying to tell the committee.”
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, described Schertler as someone you would only call “when you’re in deep s—.”
Mike McCarthy, head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, decided to stay out of the drama, saying, “These are grown men. We all have different opinions, no question about that. At the end of the day, my job is to keep it about football, to focus on winning. That’s why we’re here.”
Rodgers has expressed strong support for the Steelers’ new head coach, even citing McCarthy as the reason for his returning for one last season, going into his 22nd year in the NFL.
Andrew Phelan is a member of Heritage’s Young Leaders Program.
Original article link
