Vic Fangio Anthony Fauci Credit: Eagles
By Matt Yoder on

Former NIAID director Anthony Fauci appeared before a Senate committee on Wednesday in an effort to relitigate the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taking Fauci down has become an obsession of the right-wing industrial complex in recent years, even though he worked closely alongside President Donald Trump in handling the immediate response to the pandemic. It has only intensified ever since he was given a blanket pardon by Joe Biden after he left office to preemptively prevent any kind of prosecution with Trump re-taking office.

But that hasn’t stopped the pursuit. And when appearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, he took the Fifth Amendment to every question that sought to prove he committed a crime or covered up the origins of the virus. That presented an opportunity for Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to have some laughs about it.

In a press conference following the hearing, Fangio was in a jovial mood and joked with reporters that he would not answer any of their questions and assert his Fifth Amendment rights.

“I’m going to be like Fauci and just take the Fifth Amendment on questions. Did you see that? Oh my God,” Fangio said.

At another point in the press conference, he referenced the famed scientist in engaging with reporters about whether they got answers from Eagles GM Howie Roseman.

“He ducked you? He Fauci’d you,” Fangio quipped.

Who knows where Vic Fangio falls on the political or scientific spectrum, or what his true thoughts are about Anthony Fauci. But he probably doesn’t have fond memories of his time in the NFL during the pandemic. He was head coach of the Denver Broncos when they infamously were left without a quarterback in a game against the New Orleans Saints because the entire unit broke COVID protocols. Although he is one of the most celebrated defensive coordinators in the modern-day NFL, he wasn’t as successful as a head coach. In his three years as Broncos head coach from 2019-2021, Fangio totaled a record of 19-30 and didn’t post a winning record.

Of course, for the record, the Fifth Amendment protects against self-incrimination, not against inquiries about a 3-4 defense. While Vic Fangio had his fun with Fauci and the Fifth Amendment, let’s just all hope that we don’t have to be subjected to Aaron Rodgers this time around. Because that’s going to be a lot more exhausting.

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