Randy Smith: Brady Should Think Before He Speaks

I have never really liked Tom Brady, and yesterday he gave me a reason to like him even less.  I'm not talking about anything he did on the field; his record of play speaks for itself. No, what I'm referring to is his post-game interview on national radio. Brady was interviewed just moments after his Patriots rallied for a 24-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, claiming another AFC Championship. He referred to his ace receiver Danny Amendola as being, " F***ing awesome." He used the same F-word again a few seconds later in his conversation with reporter Jim Gray, prompting Gray to apologize for Brady's wreckless use of foul language. The announcers for the game also were forced to apologize for Brady's language as well. Whether Brady himself actually apologizes remains to be seen.

This report is not "fake news" because I heard it myself. It was also not a rookie mistake because Tom Brady is forty years old and has been there literally hundreds of times. No, it was just a careless mistake made by arguably, the greatest quarterback of all time. I will always be one who will argue that point myself because there are quite a few quarterbacks I feel fit into that esteemed category. And for all you Patriots' fans who will defend Brady to the end of the ages, this was simply just unacceptable. 

I imagine this is the world we now find ourselves in; a world where anyone can now say anything they want to say in public with no fear of any repercussion. We now suddenly find ourselves in a position where we can use any of those four-letter words that used to be taboo to say on live radio or television or say derogatory things about people; even making fun of handicapped individuals. I personally know people who were taken off the air because they uttered one of those four-letter words but not anymore.

With the ratings of the National Football League continuing to drop like winter-time temperatures, the league doesn't need this kind of negative publicity. Brady should be fined at least $100,000 for what he said, though that is not likely to happen. Brady dropping the F-word twice on national radio came a little more than week after his buddy, President Donald J. Trump referred to Haiti and certain African nations as "s***hole countries. Is this the level our nation has sunk to? Will there be an outcry against Brady like the one we saw when several players took a knee and refused to stand at the playing of the national anthem?  Is taking a stand against the oppression of African-Americans in our society worse than one of the game's greatest players using foul language on the radio where there were thousands of youngsters listening? 

In two weeks Brady and his Patriots will face the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. Brady will be in search of his sixth world championship ring and he will be favored to get it. I will be watching and pulling for the Patriots to lose, even though like many other football fans the NFL holds no excitement at all anymore. I pull for the Titans and the Falcons but professional football is something I really just can't get into, as I prefer the college game. As least I can watch the commercials and Justin Timberlake's halftime show.