Tom Brady, like so many in the football world, was shocked and disturbed over the stunning Kareem Hunt video.
Hunt was released by the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday after TMZ shared a video of the running back kicking and shoving a woman in February. Hunt since has apologized for the incident, while the NFL (rightfully) is taking heat for its handling/mishandling of the investigation, which it began nearly a year ago.
Brady acknowledged the Hunt story Monday morning during his appearance on WEEI’s “Mut & Callahan.” The New England Patriots quarterback called the situation “very unfortunate,” and also talked about how coach Bill Belichick warns his players about destructive off-field behavior.
“We talk a lot about those types of things, Coach Belichick does a great job talking to us about things that happen and the consequences that come with actions,” Brady said. “That has been something we’ve been talking about for a while now. I think there’s such zero tolerance — not only in football but society for things like that. You hate to see it. It can derail some really encouraging, positive things that are happening in people’s lives.
“Just a bad decision, and more so now than at any other time. Poor decisions are — everyone is going to make poor decisions in life, it’s just you hope they are not permanently poor. It’s just a very unfortunate situation.”
Brady also believes Belichick could use the Hunt situation as a teaching moment for his players.
“Absolutely. And again, we talk about a lot of things over the course of the year,” Brady said. “There are a lot of societal issues that have again been addressed with our team and the league. I don’t think we’re necessarily immune to some of those things, but the league tries to create a lot of awareness and it’s just personal choices.
“Obviously, we’re all accountable to our choices and it’s just a very unfortunate situation.”
It remains to be seen whether Hunt has a future in the NFL. As it stands right now, there reportedly is “no chance” a team claims the 23-year-old off waivers.
As for Brady and the Patriots, they stand a comfortable 9-3 after a 24-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. New England will hit the road next week for a Week 14 matchup with the Miami Dolphins.
