FOXBORO, Mass. — There are a handful of New England Patriots fans who continue to hold organization above individual. But when that individual is Tom Brady, it might just cloud the judgment of others.
Brady, in the mind of many, can do no wrong.
The Patriots quarterback of two decades was confirmed to have had “impermissible communications” with the rival Miami Dolphins during his final season under contract in New England. The National Football League confirmed Brady’s tampering with the Dolphins, explaining how it started in Aug. 2019 and continued throughout Brady’s final season at One Patriot Place.
The time frame indicates the legendary signal-caller competed with his longtime partner all while having side conversations with a potential future partner in South Beach.
“It didn’t improve my impressions, which weren’t great anyway,” George, 77, of Westwood, Mass., told NESN.com while watching the Patriots’ eighth training camp practice of the season Thursday. “Certainly over the last couple of years they haven’t been great.
“Ultimately, all of our heroes have feet of clay,” he added. “Brady is no exception.”
Howie Werman, 71, of Attleboro, Mass., also criticized the quarterback who helped the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles.
“I respect what he did for the Patriots. He’s a great, great quarterback,” Howie said. “But as far as the tampering, being in communication with other teams, it’s wrong. It’s wrong. … Wait until the contract runs out. When you sign a contract, you commit to the team.”
Deanna Werman, Howie’s wife, exclaimed: “I think he’s a traitor!”
Their anti-Brady sentiments didn’t stand alone. But they were rivaled.
“I don’t really care,” Tyler Gregoire, 21, of Dartmouth, Mass., told NESN.com. “Maybe if we heard about it when it happened, but he’s been with the Bucs for two years now.
“He was pushed out of here anyway,” he added, referencing the notion owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick didn’t respect Brady enough to come to an agreement. “You can’t blame Brady.”
Trevor Gregoire, Tyler’s older brother, expressed much of the same.
“At the end of the day, it’s Tom Brady. It’s a business,” he said. “These teams are trading these players. If he wants to live in Miami in a mansion, who cares?”
Trevor, however, did offer one clarification: “If you asked me the same question 10 years ago, I would’ve had a different answer. But everything is a business. … I don’t think it affects what he did for us.”
The Dolphins were punished by the NFL for tampering and were docked their 2023 first-round pick and a future third-rounder. It’s worth noting how Miami tampered on three different occasions. The Dolphins again tampered with Brady during the 2021 season despite Brady being under contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The organization also had those same impermissible conversations with the agent of then-Saints head coach Sean Payton in hopes of landing Payton, who was and continues to be under contract with New Orleans, as Miami’s new coach.
Brady, however, will not be penalized. And that, too, didn’t sit well with some Patriots fans.
“And he doesn’t get penalized? Why is that?” Howie questioned before referencing Brady’s “Deflategate” suspension. “It opens up Pandora’s box for everyone to do it.
“How do you explain it to a kid? As a kid, I got punished,” Howie continued. “Now, an athlete like Brady does something wrong and doesn’t? How do you explain that to kids?”
The mixed reviews from Patriots fans should not be overly surprising. Brady, after all, prompted those same sorts of sentiments immediately after he announced he was leaving the Patriots to pursue free agency, and ultimately, won a seventh Super Bowl with the Buccaneers.
It seems Brady always be in the middle of that sort of reaction from the passionate fanbase in New England. Whether he talks about it or not, though, is the question.
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