New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady isn’t known for sharing his personal opinions in public. In fact, he’s pretty much known for the opposite. That makes it a little surprising that Brady spoke out on Colin Kaepernick’s ongoing situation.
Brady appeared on “CBS This Morning” and had this to say regarding whether Kaepernick should be signed to another NFL contract:
“I sure hope so. I’ve always watched him and admired him, the way that he’s played. He was a great young quarterback. He came to our stadium and beat us and took his team to the Super Bowl in 2012. He accomplished a lot in the pros as a player. And he’s certainly qualified, and I hope he gets a shot.”
Colin Kaepernick Support Continues
The Patriots quarterback joins an ever-growing list of NFL players to voice their feelings on the matter. The last that got a good amount of public attention was Aaron Rodgers. In ESPN Magazine‘s NFL Preview issue, Rodgers shared a similar sentiment as Brady.
Conflicting Allegiances
Colin Kaepernick’s actions have shown to have crossover appeal. In kneeling for the “National Anthem,” sports and politics converged. Brady, as mentioned above, does or says very little publicly that could be filed as controversial.
However, Brady famously (or infamously) had a conveniently-placed “Make America Great Again” hat in his locker.
Tom Brady’s locker appears to have a Trump “Make America Great Again” hat: https://t.co/NZrHzT4nOU pic.twitter.com/VdWS7OVD5g
— The Hill (@thehill) September 5, 2015
When asked about it, in more conventional Brady fashion, he refused further comment. That hat though, and the then-Presidential candidate it is associated with, went on to say the following after being elected to office:
#POTUS #DonaldTrump said ” @NFL teams refusing to pick up .@Kaepernick7 b/c of #Trump .” #NFL @JohnLeguizamo @PRIMO1MX @kingsfanone #49ers pic.twitter.com/xyTEva194t
— Anthony (@hollywoodblvd1) March 21, 2017
President Trump has said he counts both Tom Brady and Patriots owner Robert Kraft as friends. Brady’s comments certainly break from Trump’s opinion on the subject. And it doesn’t seem likely the Patriots would end up the team to give Kaepernick another shot. In that sense, Brady’s comments should be received as very surprising. In that, they don’t fit neatly in the don’t-say-anything-controversial mentality Brady has too often approached interviews with. Maybe Brady is just reaching the late-in-career point star athletes tend to reach when they stop caring so much about public perception.
After the interview aired, Brady went on to lead the Patriots to a 36-20 defeat of the New Orleans Saints. Brady threw for three touchdowns in the first quarter. He finished 30-39 for 447 yards and three passing scores.
