The Collegian
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Opinion: Tom Brady is one of America's most insufferable athletes

We are currently in a period of triumph for Tom Brady and his loyal fans.

After winning the Super Bowl and having just defeated Roger Goodell’s NFL investigation of his purported role in Deflategate, he is on top of the world.

However, it is important to remember what really matters when it comes to Brady; that he is the most insufferable athlete in recent memory and should be rooted for by absolutely no one. I have a few examples of his character.

Richard Sherman and Darrelle Revis, two of the NFL’s most notorious trash talkers, have both stated that Brady is one of the worst in the entire league in regards to his talk on the field. It will never be enough for Brady to simply win with his signature smug smile plastered on his face; he must also issue a screaming proclamation of his achievements.

He is also a shameless promoter of some of the worst things known to man. As if it weren’t bad enough that he is one of the leading spokesmen for men’s Ugg boots, he also consistently wears a Tom Brady™hat. For crying out loud, imagine a world filled with people whose clothes bore their own names and brands; the sheer cockiness is sickening.

A lesser-known side of Brady’s personal life is that he got a woman pregnant, separated from her before the baby’s birth, and left her to raise it as a single mother. While all of this transpired in the background, Brady got another girlfriend and moved on with his career.

Lastly and most recently, he and his team have had involvements in several scandals of alleged cheating.

I don’t think of myself as an irrational sports fan, and because of that I will concede several irrefutable facts. He is a surefire Hall of Fame quarterback with an incredible resume of four Super Bowl rings and ten pro bowl appearances. He is also a good-looking guy with a beautiful wife. However, I do ask that Brady’s loyal army follow my lead and also accept several other undeniable facts.

He is an incredibly arrogant and pompous person whose attitude belies his true feelings: that he is a superior breed of human who deserves admiration as his birthright.

To suggest that he, after 14 years of regulation NFL football, was unaware that the footballs were abnormal in last year’s AFC Championship game is absolutely ridiculous. Since then, he has made no effort to confess or admit that he realized the footballs were irregular (implying his compliance in the scandal).

Brady also curiously destroyed his cellphone in an attempt to hide evidence from the NFL investigation. This is an action that no innocent man would ever take.

I’m sure that even seemingly objective facts such as these can be qualified and rationalized by the staunchest of supporters, but there is one scenario relating to Brady that no one can deny.

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If, in an alternate universe, you were to come across a person in daily life just like Brady but lacking his celebrity or talent, you would absolutely abhor him. I don’t care if it was at a supermarket, a line in airport security or a gas station, it wouldn’t matter. After seeing Brady without the filter of athletic admiration or the disclaimer of his Super Bowl wins, you would ask yourself, “what gives this guy the right to act like that?”

I still don’t have an answer to this question and I think about it every ten minutes when I see him shoot a cheesy grin at an ESPN camera. In 15 years his career will be long over and his athletic peak will be in society’s rear view mirror. At this point in time, a small child unknowing of his achievements will run into him and be immediately confronted with his obnoxious attitude and imperious nature. Hopefully he will ask him the question I’ve been wondering for the past few years.

I can’t wait to hear his answer.

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