Tom Brady condemns his pal Donald Trump
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has long been personal friends with Donald Trump, to the point that Trump claimed during the election that Brady had endorsed him, and a “Make America Great Again” hat was once spotted in Brady’s locker. But now that Trump is attacking Brady’s fellow NFL players in racist fashion, Brady is publicly condemning his friend Trump over the matter.
Tom Brady called into a local sports radio show this morning in the Boston area and said “I certainly disagree with what [Trump] said. I thought it was just divisive” (link). This came after Trump had called NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick a “son of a bitch” while insisting that NFL team owners take away the players’ right to protest. Brady elaborated by making clear that he supports the First Amendment rights of his teammates: “I think everyone has the right to do whatever they want to do. If you don’t agree, that is fine. You can voice your disagreement, I think that is great. It’s part of our democracy. As long as it is done in a peaceful, respectful way, that is what our country has been all about.”
This comes shortly after Tom Brady’s boss, New England Patriots team owner Robert Kraft, also a personal friend of Trump, publicly slammed him for having attacked NFL players. Brady didn’t visit Trump’s White House when the Patriots were invited after having won the Super Bowl. That was interpreted in some circles as Brady distancing himself from his friend Trump, but it was never explicitly spelled out. However, this time around, Brady is speaking out. He’s far from the only one.
Two days after LeBron James called Donald Trump a “bum” for attacking Steph Curry, LeBron continued his criticism today by saying that Trump’s attitude “makes me sick” (link). Michael Jordan, long hesitant to speak out on social issues, criticized Trump (link). Dale Earnhardt Jr spoke up in support of the rights of athletes to peacefully protest (link). But Tom Brady is the first athlete to speak out against Trump who is known to have a personal relationship with him.
