Last Thursday, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady took to Twitter to express his displeasure with some penalty flags in the Tennessee Titans’ game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The next day, Brady was asked about those tweets and said he wasn’t criticizing the officiating, stating he’s “very pro-ref.”
So, what was the deal with them?
Jim Gray asked Brady about those tweets in their weekly interview on Westwood One on Monday night. Gray said holding penalties were way down Sunday after a conference call was held Saturday between officials.
“I wasn’t trying to make any point,” Brady said Monday. “I’m a fan of the NFL. I’m a fan of football. More so than anything, I’ve been a fan of this game for 40 years of my life. My parents had me in the stands at Candlestick Park when Joe Montana threw to Dwight Clark and “The Catch.” And I love the sport. I love to see people playing the sport. There’s been so many things that have been said over the years about the sport that I disagree with.
“As a fan of the sport when I’m playing the game, I was to see good, clean, hardnosed football. And I’m a little bit of an old school player in that way, because for playing in this game for 20 years I recognize the many rule changes, the influence of the media, the influence of society. I want to see tough, hardnosed football. And I want to see good, clean football. I don’t ever want to see cheap-shots. I want people always playing within the rules, but I want to see it clean, and I want to see the players decide it on the field.
“When I’m watching the other night, I decided to turn it off, because I didn’t feel like that was what I was seeing. And that’s all I was saying.”
Brady actually did express his displeasure with officiating during the Patriots’ 30-14 win over the New York Jets on Sunday.
