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Get Off Tom Brady’s Back About Donald Trump

By Matthew Rewinski

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Patriots quarterback Tom Brady supporting his friend Donald Trump should not be a story.

“Stick to sports.” It’s the most reflexive knee-jerk comment in the wretched swamps of the Twitter planet anytime an athlete takes any sort of definitive stance on a social, moral, or political issue.  Observe:

Athlete: “Hey guys, cops shooting black people for no reason, it is bad and something should be done about it!”

Knuckle-dragging Twitter: “STICK TO SPORTS”

Athlete: “Gay people deserve to be treated with respect!”

Troglodyte Twitter: “STICK TO SPORTS”

Athlete: “Our President just made a good speech!”

Whopper-eating-Busch-Lite-Drinking-Duck-Dynasty-Watching Twitter: “STFU and STICK TO SPORTS!”

Just look at 49ers receiver Torrey Smith’s mentions if you don’t believe me.

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So this week, possibly because Boston sports radio may be bored asking Tom Brady “How does it feel to win your 10,000th AFC East title and incinerate every team that tries to even put up a contest against the New England Patriots every week?”, the topic of Tom Brady’s weekly interview on WEEI with Dennis & Callahan took a turn towards the Trump:

Kirk Minihane: “So, I’ll just ask it one more time, just so it’s clear, just for the record. Are you supporting Donald J. Trump for president in 2016?”

Which led Brady to respond:

“Can I just stay out of this debate? Donald, he’s a good friend of mine. I’ve known him for a long time. I support all my friends. That’s what I have to say. He’s a good friend of mine. He’s always been so supportive of me, for the last 15 years, since I judged a beauty pageant for him, which was one of the very first things that I did that thought was really cool. That came along with winning the Super Bowl.”

“He’s always invited me to play golf. I’ve always enjoyed his company. I support all my friends in everything they do. I think it’s pretty remarkable what he’s achieved in his life. I mean, going from business, kind of an incredible businessman and then a TV star, and then getting into politics. It’s a pretty different career path. I think that is pretty remarkable.”

And then, at a press conference the next day, Brady got asked two more back-to-back questions about Donald Trump before the team cut off the press conference.

So.

Regardless of whether your opinion of Donald Trump is that he’s a xenophobic demagogue that would debase the presidency of the United States to V for Vendetta levels of fascism or not, why should Tom Brady get grilled about his personal friendship with a guy that most Americans consider a complete and utter Neanderthal?

The obvious intention here is to either get Brady to a Roger Ebert “TWO THUMBS UP!” to Trump’s rambling inflammatory demagoguery, or to denounce it as the most popular athlete in the most politically liberal region in the United States.  Either result would be a bombshell.

But who else do we know that has friends that have wildly differing opinions on just about everything under the sun, and they’re still friends?

Probably you.

Definitely me.

And probably just about everyone else under the sun.

Got a friend who thinks everyday people have no business owning guns?  Congratu-freaking-lations.  You probably also have a friend who thinks that everyone can and should own whatever guns they feel like by strolling into the gun store and buying a semi-auto like you or I would pick up a 12-pack.

Got a friend that believes in trickle-down economics?  If you have a Republican friend, the answer is yes.  If you are that Republican friend, odds are you have at least one friend that believes the US should mirror European countries, where the income tax rate can soar over 50%, but things that America privatized like healthcare and public education are all paid for by the national government.

Got a friend that’s a Christian?  Bet you have one that doesn’t think God and the Bible are any more real than Lord of the Rings

So even if Tom Brady plays golf with Donald Trump and spends time hanging out with him, and says that he wants to see his friends succeed (which, let’s be clear, is literally what he said):

Who cares?

And more importantly, why the hell would someone think it’s their place to put Tom Brady on the spot about whether he agrees with EVERY LAST BIT of his friend’s ideology on a sports talk show?

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It’d be one thing if Tom made an appearance on, say, 60 Minutes, or even something like an MTV Rock the Vote special (do they still have those?).  This is SPORTS RADIO and a Patriots press conference.  The headline-chaser scoop junkies asking him about Donald Trump are lucky Brady just didn’t answer every political question with “We’re on to Tennessee” or Bill Belichick’s go-to answer for stupid-ass questions:

“PFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTT.”

In a way, this is pretty similar to one part of the chef salad of ridiculousness that was DeflateGate: Tom Brady’s refusal to turn over his personal cell phone.

If your boss told you “I need you to give me your personal cell phone so I can go through all of your calls, texts, emails, Snapchats, Facebook messages, and Twitter drafts”, our reaction would all be the same: “MY phone is none of your F’ing business!”

Next: Will New Pats WR Leonard Hankerson Make a Difference?

So, to all the reporters, all the sports talk hosts – looking at YOU, WEEI – and Deadspin, and everyone else who wants to ask Tom Brady “DURRRR are you going to vote for Donald Trump?”

…Stick to sports.

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