Tom Brady issued a surprise shoutout after putting on his red jacket Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium.
Before Brady expressed his gratitude and appreciation for Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick and his former Patriots teammates, the legendary quarterback saluted a quartet of noteworthy diehard fans. Dave Portnoy and three of his Barstool Sports colleagues, who were arrested in 2015 for protesting Deflategate at NFL headquarters, sat front row to watch Brady become the 35th member of the Patriots Hall of Fame.
"The Brady 4" were among the first people spotlighted by Brady, but Portnoy wasn't on hand to bask in the glory. The Barstool Sports founder left the event early to watch the Boston Celtics, who tipped off Game 3 of the NBA Finals roughly at the halfway point of the Brady ceremony.
The premature exit prompted a social media call-out from Patriots legend Julian Edelman.
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"Would've been nice to have you here @stoolpresidente," Edelman posted to X.
Portnoy didn't regret leaving, as he felt the Celtics "needed" him in their latest matchup with the Mavericks. And Boston did end up coming out on top, securing a 106-99 win to put itself within one victory of the 18th championship in franchise history.
Portnoy and his fellow Green Teamers will be locked in Friday night when the C's try to complete a sweep of the Mavericks and hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy at American Airlines Center.
Featured image via New England Patriots
