NFL great Tom Brady is usually spot-on when it comes to multi-yard passes, but he’s really missed the mark with this one.
The veteran quarterback has landed in hot water with actual veterans when he compared playing in the NFL to serving in the military.
In perhaps the most tone-deaf statement of the century, Brady claimed that the beginning of the football season is similar to getting ready to be deployed overseas.
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The statement came on the Let’s Go! With Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray podcast while talking to NBA legend Kevin Durant.
The Tampa Bay player told the NBA star: “I almost look at like football season like you're going away on deployment.
“It's like, 'Man, here I go again.' There's only one way to do it.”
Brady acknowledged that when he’s home there’s always an inclination to spend more time away from the game, however, his competitive nature takes over.
He continued: “Whatever you may say, like, 'Aw man, I want to spend a little more time doing this during the season,' the reality is your competitiveness takes over.
“As much as you want to have this playful balance with the [work-life] balance, you're gonna end up doing exactly what you've always done, which is why you are who you are. You're gonna go, 'How the f**k do I get it done?'"
And well, unsurprisingly, United States veterans and many others weren’t too happy with the comparison.
One fan said: “I have a grudging respect for Tom Brady but his remarks about comparing a football season to a military deployment was, to me as an Afghanistan Vet quite insulting.”
Another wrote: “My father served two Vietnam tours, him & his friends were appalled.
“Tell that b***h Tom Brady to dodge bullets, wear soaking wet boots for weeks, worry about landmines. The guy plays an effing sport, it frankly is gross.”
A third added: “Tom Brady comparing football season to a military deployment is like an actor claiming they know how to be a cop because they played one on TV.”
A fourth quipped: “I did two tours of Iraq, and when an NFL season would start I remember thinking ‘I know it’s raining mortars here, but at last I’m not Tom Brady going through passing drills’.”
Brady came under fire over the weekend after he publicly berated his team.
The NFL star hadn’t attended practice that Wednesday, attended a weeding on Friday, and didn’t participate in the team walk-through on Saturday.
Topics: NFL, US Sports, American Football, Tom Brady
Jayden Collins