Brady: ‘Very poor choice of words’ on podcast
Tom Brady apologized Thursday for making a comparison between football and military deployment while interviewing NBA star Kevin Durant on the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s weekly podcast.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback said he used a “very poor choice of words” on the SiriusXM podcast “Let’s Go! With Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray” while he and Durant were discussing the difficulty of balancing a commitment to being highly successful athletes with life outside of sports.
“Earlier this week I made a statement about playing football and the military. It was a very poor choice of words,” Brady said. “I just want to express that to any sentiments out there that people may have taken in a certain way, so I apologize.”
Durant was a guest on the podcast Monday.
“I almost look at a football season like you’re going away on deployment in the military, and it’s like, ‘Man, here I go again.’ There’s only one way to do it. The reality is you can really only be authentic to yourself, right?” Brady said on the podcast.
The quarterback was asked Thursday to explain the point he was trying to make during the podcast.
“To be honest, I really don’t want to expand on it too much. I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for everyone who served (in the military),” Brady said.
“In the end, we play a game and the military is defending our country,” Brady added. “It’s two very different things, and I shouldn’t have made the comparison.”
Trivia question
On this date in 1998, the Yankees completed their four-game World Series sweep of the Padres with a 3-0 victory at Qualcomm. The Yankees’ starting pitcher went 71⁄3 scoreless innings in a 3-0 victory. Who started for the Yankees?
No joshing
If you missed it, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was in a Padres suite Wednesday for the Padres-Phillies game.
Allen, whose Bills are on a bye this week, was with longtime girlfriend Michelle Williams, a social media influencer. Both were wearing Padres gear.
He posed later with former Padres great Trevor Hoffman, who wore an Allen jersey.
Hoffman’s wife, Tracy, is a former cheerleader for the Buffalo Bills (the cheerleading team called the Jills that is no more), so the Hoffmans have been part of the Bills Mafia for a while, says Padres aficionado Annie Heillbrunn.
Trivia answer
Andy Pettitte, who was 19-11 in his postseason career. Pettitte still holds the record for postseason wins, followed by John Smoltz (15), Justin Verlander (15) and Tom Glavine (14). It’s conceivable, though not likely, that Verlander could catch Pettitte this season.