Does Make America Reat Again Swipe a Barack Obm
Tom Brady's official retirement bulletin on Tuesday has, predictably, been met with a variety of takes. These takes tend to fall into four categories:
"What a peachy player! I dear Tom Brady!"
"I hate Boston sports teams! I hate Tom Brady!"
"What a cheater! I hate Tom Brady!"
"Good riddance to that MAGA-hat-wearing symbol of white oppression. I really detest Tom Brady!"
The camp you fall into may be inadvertently personally revealing; it's a fun little Sorting Hat for our sporting era.
The camp yous fall into may be inadvertently personally revealing; it's a fun footling Sorting Hat for our sporting era. Clearly, Brady is a cultural lightning rod, just every bit his legendary career ends, I feel obliged to bespeak out one criticism that should exist corrected. Not just was Brady not any kind of fascist, I'm pretty sure he was never really on lath with Donald Trump in the first place.
Yet, the "MAGA-hat-loving Brady" legend has been such a big function of his narrative for more than than a half-decade that information technology has taken on a life of its ain; I've really heard him called "this generation's Lindbergh."
Maybe you hate Brady and maybe you don't, simply equally the news bicycle begins litigating and relitigating Brady's larger-than-life legacy, let'south be clear most what he did — and what he didn't — say or do. It's unavoidable that one of the greatest North American athletes e'er be mythologized, but at least let us mythologize based on fact, not fiction.
Brady didn't put the hat in his locker
If you know one thing about Brady'southward alleged politics, it probably ties dorsum to that famous picture of Brady with the "Make America Neat Over again" hat in his locker way back in September 2015. Brady had said he was "friends" with Trump and that "he'due south a hell of a lot of fun to play golf game with."
But it'due south worth noting that Brady isn't the 1 who put the lid in his locker: That happened via Patriots owner Robert Kraft — Brady's boss, such as it was — who was such a longtime Trump friend and supporter that he may have asked Trump to try to intervene during the squad's Spygate scandal.
Remember, as well, that this was September 2015: Brady, like almost of America so, surely didn't accept Trump's candidacy particularly seriously. (Be honest, you didn't either.) Brady was explicit in an interview that calendar week that he was not expressing support for Trump for president and that the lid should non exist seen as an endorsement of that. (He later on said, "Political support is a lot unlike than the support of a friend.")
The hat was never seen again, and Brady never said a word in back up of Trump once again afterward. Indeed, the simply thing he e'er said about Trump politically was to say he "disagreed" with him when Trump said protesting athletes should be "dragged off the field."
Also Kraft, Patriots coach Bill Belichick was a real Trump supporter. On the eve of the election in 2016, Trump read from a letter Belichick had sent him — a letter that, despite a cadence that sounded suspiciously like Trump's, Belichick confirmed sending. ESPN writer Seth Wickersham later revealed that some on the team were and then upset by Belichick'due south Trump support that they nigh boycotted practice. But none of them always said a give-and-take about Brady.
Brady never went to the White Business firm when Trump was at that place
Brady did not visit the White House with the Patriots when the team celebrated with President Barack Obama in 2015. But he also did not join when the squad visited the White House during the Trump assistants.
Brady'southward career has spanned many unlike presidents, and he did visit 2 of them: President George W. Bush-league in 2004 and 2005 and President Joe Biden last year. During his visit with the latter, Brady joked, "Not a lot of people think that we could accept won. In fact, I call up about 40 percent of people still don't think nosotros won. You empathise that, Mr. President?" It was widely considered a swipe at Trump.
Brady's wife has been less circumspect
Brady has never explicitly said what he idea of Trump politically, but his wife, Gisele Bundchen, sure has. When, on the eve of the 2016 election, someone asked her on Instagram if she and Brady were voting for Trump, she gave an emphatic "No!"
Also, on the day when Brady's teammates were visiting the Trump White House — and her husband was not — she tweeted a link to the climatic change protest specifically slated for Trump's 100th day in role. She even reportedly told Brady to cease talking almost politics at all, lest there be any confusion, communication he clearly followed.
Ultimately, Brady is unlike most athletes — and Americans. But where he is very much like nearly athletes, and most Americans, is in his apparent desire not to talk most politics — at all. Is Tom Brady a Republican? A Democrat? A Proud Boy? A Bernie Bro? While Brady said years ago that he did enjoy "following" politics, he has, like many celebrities, mostly just supported blandly safe causes and charities.
This doesn't make him brave, and there'south certainly a case to be fabricated that he should wield his considerable ability and influence differently. Brady has more often than not ignored the trend of the athlete-activist, typified by stars like LeBron James or Megan Rapinoe. Do many of us wish Brady had spoken up against Trump? Of class. But the fact that he didn't makes him exactly similar, oh, every other Super Basin quarterback of the terminal twenty years. (Well, about every ane.)
It is possible that Brady is secretly a Gettr user and a heavy fiscal supporter of Trump (though no donations have ever been given to a Trump entrada in his name), and he'southward but been incredibly stealth about information technology. Simply it'south more likely that Trump was only a golfing buddy who of a sudden ran for president.
Then you lot tin hate Tom Brady all you desire. There are enough of legitimate reasons to do so (I didn't even touch on his wellness stuff or his support of Antonio Brown). But him existence a Trump supporter isn't one of them. Sorry.
Related:
- From Tom Brady and the NFL to the WNBA and NASCAR, Trump still haunts pro sports
- Carl Nassib, the first openly gay active NFL player, could be turning betoken for male sports
- Colin Kaepernick'due south NFL slavery comments on Netflix made waves. Good.
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/tom-brady-donald-trump-retiring-nfl-great-s-maga-myth-ncna1288381
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