Tom Brady Defends Himself, Refutes Claim Made By Rams-Bucs Referee

Leading up to the Rams-Buccaneers divisional-round contest, Tom Brady acknowledged NFL referees typically let him off the hook when he probably should receive an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Ironically enough, Shawn Hochuli had little patience for the future Hall of Fame quarterback this past Sunday afternoon at Raymond James Stadium.

Brady received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for barking at Hochuli during Tampa Bay’s loss to Los Angeles. Hochuli claimed the star quarterback used “abusive language” after Von Miller was not flagged for a borderline helmet-to-helmet hit.

The Bucs signal-caller, however, claims he did not use explicit or aggressive language and he stands by his belief that Hochuli missed a call on the Rams pass-rusher.

“If I feel like they miss a call, I want to let the guy know,” Brady said on his “Let’s Go!” podcast, as transcribed by Pro Football Talk. “And I’ve done that literally a thousand times over the course of my career and never got called. In this instance, before I could realize it, the flag was thrown. And I was looking at the guy like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I didn’t cuss, I didn’t do any of those things.”

Brady continued: “I obviously felt like I got hit on the chin, and I felt like he missed, in the end, a clear penalty. So I screamed at him to throw the flag, and he did. But I guess I need to be more specific with who he needs to throw the flag on. So I’ve got a nice bruise under my chin. It is the first time in 22 years to get flagged. That was pretty comical to me.”

The penalty was just one facet of the frustration that came with the Bucs’ season-ending loss, which very well could prove to be Brady’s final NFL game.