If Tom Brady's retirement announcement is limited to the post he released Tuesday, Scott Zolak believes the future Hall of Fame quarterback essentially flipped the bird to the Patriots and their fans.
Brady issued a slew of shoutouts in his long-awaited statement, but they were limited to members of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization, his family and his team. There was not a single mention of the New England franchise despite the fact that Brady played 20 of his 22 NFL seasons in Foxboro and won six Super Bowls with the Patriots.
This didn't sit well with Zolak, a former New England quarterback, who reacted to Brady's post in real time on 98.5 The Sports Hub's "Zolak and Bertrand."
"On the day that he retires from the sport that gave him life -- the game of football -- that gave him opportunities to even have the ability to start his next three companies that he mentions in his final statement ... I go back to back the statement, I read it this morning, the one he released when he left New England, where he did thank all those New England people. He's either one cold, calculating son of a (expletive) to where you can release that and say, 'That's it. That part of my life is done. This is my new venture and it was Tampa Bay and now I'm just gonna thank those. I already did New England, now I'm doing you.'
"If he did that on the day that he just retires from football -- he's the greatest player to ever play the game. We know what the legacy is. You win six here. You bookended dynasties: three in the front, three at the end and then you walked. There was times in between there, whatever, it was back and forth. This would be a massive 'F you' to the fans, to RKK (Robert Kraft), to anybody who helped develop him to be the maniacal nutjob of a player he is now and competitor."
Zolak added: "It's stunning. If that's it and there's no Part 2 to drop here, it's either 'bleep you, New England.' By the way, the picture that he chose to post is him in a Bucs uniform as the rain's coming down, he's pointing to the sideline and the game's at Gillette Stadium. That's Gillette Stadium in the background. So, there's where it's another twist. That's a massive 'bleep you' if there isn't anything else coming.
The omission didn't stop the Patriots from honoring the greatest QB of all time. Both Kraft and Bill Belichick issued glowing statements for Brady, who New England's head coach referred to as the "best player" in NFL history.
