Tom Brady Confirms What We All Suspected About His On-The-Field Behavior
Tom Brady is hyper-competitive which has helped him become one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time but has also resulted in the occasional on-the-field tantrum. During the Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp in August, Brady lost his composure when his squad was not performing to his standards. Early in the session the quarterback grabbed a football and punted it in anger, per CBS Sports. Later, he lashed out at his receivers. "Tom Brady slams his helmet. 'Gotta make a (bleeping) play when you're tired fellas,'" Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweeted.
Brady has famously not taken well to losing. Following a Buccaneers loss to the Washington Football Team on November 14, Brady ran his own "two-minute drill" when he stormed out of a press conference in record time, per MSN Sports. "Tom Brady's entire media availability lasted 1 minute, 43 seconds," ESPN's Jenna Laine tweeted. "I asked if he could take us through how he was feeling. 'I like to win,' he said."
On December 19, Brady and the Buccaneers suffered a history-making loss to the New Orleans Saints when they lost 9-0. It was the first time in 15 years — 255 games — that Brady was shut out. After the loss, football fans had "Nick Foles" trending on Twitter as a reminder to when Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles upset the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, per Heavy. They also noted how Brady lost his composure on the field while being shut out by the Saints.
Tom Brady discusses his heated moment
After throwing an interception late in the 9-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints, Tom Brady had a short, but heated exchange with the opposing coach. A video that went viral on Twitter appeared to catch Brady shouting, "Go f*** yourself," to Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who was acting head coach, per the New York Post. The quarterback was not done taking out his frustration, as shortly after he was seen throwing a tablet to the ground while on the bench.
Originally, Brady tried to downplay his outburst. In a post-game interview, he was asked about the exchange with the Saints coach. "Ah nothing... Just football," Brady responded, per WFLA. The next day the seven-time Super Bowl champion opened up a bit more about what he said on the field. "We were wonderfully in the heat of the moment expressing, I wouldn't say pleasantries, but we were very competitive in that moment, it was emotional," Brady revealed on his "Let's Go!" podcast, per the New York Post. The quarterback also discussed tossing the tablet on the sideline. "Yeah I was pretty pissed. I broke the tablet," Brady said. "I threw it, I didn't want to throw an interception with that tablet so I made sure it hit the ground."
Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who intercepted Brady on the outburst-causing play, trolled the quarterback on Twitter. "Hey @Microsoft @surface can y'all send me a new Surface Tablet?" Gardner-Johnson wrote. "I need to give it to a friend who broke his."
Tom Brady's off-the-field temper
Over the years, Tom Brady's temper has come to the forefront on multiple occasions. The NFL legend may not always hurl expletives at opponents, but he has become known for displaying poor sportsmanship following difficult losses. In November 2020, after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Los Angeles Rams, Brady rushed off the field instead of shaking the hand of opposing quarterback Jared Goff. Brady pulled the same move a month earlier when his team lost to Nick Foles and the Chicago Bears. This behavior prompted the Los Angeles Times to pen an article titled, "Is Tom Brady the Sorest Loser of All Time?"
Brady's poor sportsmanship extends beyond the football field. When wide receiver Danny Amendola joined the New England Patriots in 2013, he and Brady playfully exchanged trash talk over who was better at ping pong. Apparently, the quarterback fancied himself a formidable player. Eventually, the two squared off at table tennis which left Amendola in a predicament. "I [knew] I was better than him, I didn't want to beat him too bad, because I wanted him to throw me the ball," he told For The Win in 2016. Amendola wound up winning the match handily, and Brady handled the defeat less than gracefully. Once the receiver hit the winning point he turned his back to Brady and heard something whizz by his ear. "Brady's paddle had come in hot and just missed him," Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer wrote in 2020.