Posted on 12/17/2015 10:41:31 AM PST by Third Person
Tom Brady doesn't want to discuss Donald Trump, and it's hard to blame him. Part of Brady's appeal is that he stands for nothing, which means he can stand for anything. The second he takes a side, that veneer of perfection vanishes.
Look good, stay out of trouble, and stick to sports. Michael Jordan soared to heights of inoffensive fame this way, too – "Be like Mike" meant whatever we wanted it to mean.
So Brady dodges, like he did Monday on Dennis & Callahan with Minihane when he declined to endorse or rebuke his "good friend" Trump, instead staking out a positionless middle ground.
"Can I just stay out of this debate?" he asked with a laugh.
He dodged again on Wednesday at Gillette, when Ch. 7's Dan Hausle tried to draw him down the rabbit hole and Brady walked off the podium with a wave and a smile.
"Like I said, I'm just here to play football," Brady offered with a sheepish grin before exiting stage left.
His fans don't care what he says about anything, as long as he shows up on Sunday and completes 70 percent of his passes. I just wish he wouldn't sit out this particular issue, and here's why.
It has nothing to do with being a celebrity, and everything to do with being a citizen. Trump is now officially a menace and I'm only three-quarters hyperbolizing when I say Brady owes it to his country to say something.
If Brady is annoyed at the unwanted headlines, he has no one but himself to blame. He started all of this by proudly displaying one of Trump's insipid "Make America Great Again" hats at his locker in September, which prompted questions, which prompted generalities from Brady about Trump's chances at winning the Presidency ("I hope so . . . That would be great."), which prompted reams of coverage.
I wrote about it back then, too, but from more of a tongue-in-cheek perspective admonishing Brady for supporting such a clown. It seemed harmless enough. Once Trump's carnival barking subsided, or maybe a circus tiger ate him, we could move on with the actual election.
Except, in the interim Trump has emerged as a legitimate candidate, which defies all reason and logic. This is where it would be nice for Brady to heed the advice given to subway riders everywhere: if you see something, say something.
Far from his campaign sloganeering, Trump represents the worst of America: ignorance and arrogance masquerading as strength and conviction, money paving the path to power, fear-mongering and racism creating a vacuum to be filled with hate.
Trump is a divisive demagogue in the style of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who'd definitely call me a Communist for writing this, or segregationist George Wallace, whose presidential campaigns in the 1960s and '70s stoked the same kinds of rage with lesser-educated white voters that Trump is tapping into now.
When Trump says things like all Muslims should be denied entry to the U.S. or that Mexican migrants are rapists and drug traffickers, that's not just antithetical to the very concept of America, it's evil. But the thing with demagogues is no one in a position of influence rebukes them. Liberals and Democrats can caterwaul all they want, but it's up to the Republican establishment to condemn his policies of hate.
What does this have to do with Brady? Like it or not, he has entered the conversation as one of Trump's symbols. Consider this quote from the Washington Post:
"In Massachusetts, I'm at 48 percent. You know why?" Trump said. "Tom Brady said 'Trump's the greatest.' He says it to anyone who asks him. You know, it's hard for a guy like him to say that. When you're a football player, you don't want to be taking sides in campaigns and having the Hillary [Clinton] people now say, 'You're not as good as Bart Starr.'"
Putting aside that Brady has never publicly labeled Trump, "the greatest" (hyperbole is one of The Donald's oratory trademarks), he has said enough to suggest he's a supporter.
Does he want to play even the tiniest role in electing a hate-monger to the White House? He could make an impact simply by saying, "Donald is my friend, but we have a lot of fans that are Muslim and Mexican, and I don't agree with his thoughts on those subjects at all."
Instead, Brady tells us Trump let him judge a beauty pageant when he first got famous, they like to golf together, and that, "I support my friends in everything they do." That's all well and good, but not every friend is worthy of the presidency.
I understand why Brady wants to stay out of this one, but Trump has positioned himself to lead our country, and if I had any kind of platform to keep that from happening, I'd use it.
I know this is asking a lot, but I wish Brady would, too.
You wrote: When your reason and logic fail to correspond with reality on a regular basis, it might be time to try to reassess your reason and logic.
The new reality is, if a 57-year-old man thinks himself a six-year-old girl, why then he is! Who are you to say your logic and reason is superior to his — oops I mean her’s?
Your statement is most certainly micro-aggressive, and it might even be racist somehow!
Who knows, I can’t keep track any more. I am glad I am old and getting older, and that no one’s reality can change that.
I thought the phrase conservatives use is, “Shut up and sing.”
This genius says Donald Trump is "officially a menace"....has this scribbler ever really worked a day in his life? I mean really worked?
Oyvey. I am a Giant fan and full of jealous bones so you know how I feel about a near billionaire QB for the Pats with a wife named Giselle who is a multi millionaire on her own. But if Brady is also a stand-up guy I will admit that he is the greatest QB and leader to ever play the game.
One wonders if the child who wrote this really understands that Joe McCarthy was CORRECT about the infiltration of communists in the government.
Had to listen to 80’s Metal because the sports shows talked about nothing else all morning. Bruins beat the Penguins 3-0 and I didn’t know the Pats were playing the Titans until someone posted it on Facebook an hour ago.
Not to be pedantic, but what if he wore a t-shirt under his sports shirt and took it off while changing and hung it on a hook saying “Make America Great Again”...would that have been a mistake? How about if he wore the cap on his front lawn and a reporter stopped his car and took a picture?
We give the media license to do everything, and responsibility to adhere to nothing, morally or professionally.
I am one of the most ardent defenders of Joseph McCarthy, and that book is one of the best, fairest and most factual and logical books written about the subject.
Both him and Whittaker Chambers. (I actually got an email from Chambers’ grandson asking me politely to remove the text from the letter to his children due to copyright from both my Freep page and my regular website (when I used to have one) which I dutifully did.
I just let that comment by Tomase pass, because, like the scorpion riding the frog’s back across the river, that is simply what liberals do.
LOL, I turned on the radio in time to hear Callahan asking Tanguay if he thought people turned off the radio when they heard his voice, and had to laugh as I turned off the radio!
Agreed. I listened for about a minute, then put on my audiobook of “Once an Eagle”, then about 15 minutes later turned the radio back on for five seconds...then back to the book.
Gotta make valuable use of the time driving to and from work, and listening to that doesn’t count.
So the writer wants to hound Brady because the writer hates Trump and Brady said something nice about Trump.
Typical Liberal - If you don’t agree with me I’ll destroy you personally.
So when someone does not engage in your fantasy of what you would want them to say they are now bigots. Sort of in the same realm as trying to prove a negative with physical evidence isn’t it?
Just another good little hypocritical left wing white boy
“Trump is a divisive demagogue in the style of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who’d definitely call me a Communist for writing this, or segregationist George Wallace”
What, no mention of the Clintons or Obama or the Kennedys?
“Trump has emerged as a legitimate candidate, which defies all reason and logic . . . “
It does? Gee, FatBoy, you’re sooooo much smarter than anyone else
“Trump represents the worst of America: ignorance and arrogance masquerading as strength and conviction, money paving the path to power, fear-mongering and racism creating a vacuum to be filled with hate.”
Ah yes, the liberal talking points. Way to think for yourself. Oh wait, you’re a robot and you can’t.
“electing a hate-monger to the White House?”
Like your “messiah” Obama, who sat in a racist “church” for two decades? Or who jumps into the fray when there’s a thug justifiably getting justice at the end of a white man’s gun? Or employs Holder, Jarrett, and Lynch? Or appoints the unqualified, open minded self-styled “Wise Latina””? Who takes the side of Muslims and illegals here no matter what? Yeah, THAT guy.
“When Trump says things like all Muslims should be denied entry to the U.S. or that Mexican migrants are rapists and drug traffickers, that’s not just antithetical to the very concept of America, it’s evil.”
Yeah, sorta like your Dems saying “all guns should be confiscated” “all blacks are victims of discrimination” “all whites are ‘privileged” C’mon Johnny, it’s just antithetical to the very concept of America, right? It’s evil, agreed?
And lastly, found this gem on our open minded “sports journ-O-list’s” bio”
“A graduate of Tufts University and native of Mansfield, he grew up on Bird, Boggs, Bourque, and Steve Grogan.”
IMAGINE THAT? All of Johnboy’s local sports heroes are CAUCASIANS!!
Priceless lolzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
The Giants and Eli own Brady.
Be smart Brady. As soon as a public figure stakes out a position they alienate half of their fans. Don’t weigh in, you’re losing enough fans as it is.
The guy likes big balls, that was the story anyway. So it makes sense for him to endorse Trump.
Be careful what you wish for John Tomase.
I get so I really dont want to know another persons politics. I generally dont bring up the topic unless I bump into someone who mentions it first and we are in agreement.
“We give the media license to do everything, and responsibility to adhere to nothing, morally or professionally.”
You are correct but Brady is an extremely public persona and certainly knows how to play the media game.
.
Of course, there’s nothing in the world Brady would rather do right now than piss of Goddell. Wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why this is happening.
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