Tom Brady’s Super Short Press Conference After a Loss: Pathetic is My Response
These are the facts in a nutshell: Tampa Bay lost the football game on Sunday and Brady was intercepted twice. His post-game press conference lasted just under a minute. If you want to see it (or read it), here you go:
Now, Brady has had a remarkable career, whether you are a fan of his or not. He has remarkable statistics and just a short time ago, we were reading about his 600th touchdown pass and the need to recover that ball from a fan who caught it from the receiver Mike Evans (who tossed it into the stands — an oops moment for sure). The payoff (or lack thereof) to the fan (a medical resident) was the matter of considerable sports talk radio debate.
Come On Here:
I get that Brady is competitive. He likes to win. OK, I get that too. I get that losing feels bad and pisses one off.
But please, in sports and in life, we don’t always win.
Whatever happened to the idea that when you are great and fail, you are gracious and composed and remarkably humble?
What happened to the idea that when great people make mistakes, they embrace the opportunity to showcase their humanity?
What happened to the idea that a superlative athlete can role model losing to fans and non-fans alike?
What happened to the idea that Tom Brady could have spent more than 58 seconds talking to reporters?
Some Sirius Mad Dog Radio hosts commented (joked?) that perhaps he was saving all he had to say for his radio show on Monday night at 6:00 pm. — which I regrettably have not heard. Even if he saved up the good stuff for his show, a 58 second post-game interview suggests to me that he is actually not the G.O.A.T, depending on how you define that term.
Sure, he’s got the statistics and the wins and the arm. Yes, he can lead on the field. He has more Superbowl rings than he has fingers on one hand. But for me at least, a G.O.A.T is someone who is decent when both winning and losing.
Let me explain. Winning and losing are a part of daily life, not just sports. And, even the greatest professionals make mistakes and have bad days. Even the best business folks and educators and medical professionals err. The question that needs to be answered is how do you react when you win and when you lose.
In this way, I disagree with the famous Vince Lombardi who said, “Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser.” https://www.azquotes.com/author/8997-Vince_Lombardi/tag/losing
The Ways to Respond to Wins and Loses:
If we want to help our young people of all ages and stages, we need to help them deal with wins and loses — in school, in athletics, in their love lives, in their life experiences. And, this isn’t easy. We struggle with winning and losing with grace.
So, how can we learn? Watching role models is one way. We can see how those who are a success deal with those successes and then their losses. Perhaps in a sense, how successful folks deal with loses is more important than how they deal with success. And, to be clear, good losers are NOT losers.
It is hard to believe that Brady’s ego was deeply bruised by the recent loss. Goodness knows, he seems downright self-contented most of the time. He surely can’t question his capacity — even at his age. I get that many of us struggle with insecurity but I am hard pressed to believe that Tom Brady suffers from profound personal insecurity as to his football prowess.
Now, Brady may be insecure about other things in life; about that I have no clue. Is he insecure in his marriage? In his parenting skills? In his sense of his aging body? In his intellectual capacities? Beats me.
But surely, he can’t be so insecure that he needs to terminate a press conference at his age and stage in under a minute.
Give me a break here. His performance and his pouting are simply pathetic. He isn’t a winner in any sense that matters to me in terms of being a human who could take his talents and use them to help others. I get he may be mad at himself and his teammates. Maybe he’s mad at his body for not holding up perfectly or his offensive line not protecting him. OK. Be mad and sad and upset but be gracious and decent in loss. Be the better person.
Hue and Cry:
I can hear the hue and cry already. Brady is under no duty to be a role model. He doesn’t need to do press conferences. He doesn’t need to stand up to the media questions when he is feeling bad. He doesn’t need to overcome being a sore loser. He can do what he wants; he is, after all, Tom Brady.
Sure, he’s Tom Brady but Tom Brady could be so much more. Athletes can give away money to charity. They can sign balls and shirts. They can give speeches and accept awards. They can gloat in the praise they are given. They can create mini-documentaries about their lives and live in glass houses.
But, what matters most to me are things that don’t speak to athletes spending money on good causes. It isn’t about their showcasing their fame. It is about how they act as humans — in good times and in bad times.
Brady fails, at least in my view, when he can’t be decent to others, when he is unwilling to let reporters do their jobs; and when he is unable to role model losing with dignity and humility and respect for others.
Can I Name Anyone Who Gets it Right?
Now, this isn’t an easy question. What athletes or famous people get it “right” when they fail? Who really can step up and own mistakes and respect the winners and acknowledge shortcomings. Who can apologize if needed? Who can lose well? And yes, people are often better at winning and role modeling that. Role modeling losing isn’t so facile.
There are even lists of sore losers, whether one agrees or not with who is on them. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1089142-25-biggest-sore-losers-in-sports-history
But, in the interest of providing examples (of conduct unlike Brady’s at his recent press conference), let me offer a couple examples. And yes, there are some lists of good losers.
I’d call Al Gore a gracious loser (although some might disagree on this). Yes, he pursued his legal remedies but he accepted the Supreme Court’s decision. And, post election, he even won a Nobel prize.
Try Jack Nicklaus as an example of a deeply competitive athlete but also a gracious loser. https://www.golfdigest.com/story/on-the-eve-of-80-jack-nicklaus-legacy-becomes-less-defined-by-his-record-and-more-by-his-character. And, don’t start with golfers aren’t athletes. Actually, winning in golf is rare, at least winning consistently.
For me, there were some gracious losers on our athletic teams when I was a college president. I remember one specific men’s basketball game. It was held during a snow storm. There were seven overtimes. One SVC player, Lance Spratling, played all 75 minutes. SVC lost. It was late at night. But, even in a sad moment, a real loss, the team and the coaches at SVC were gracious losers. And, the winners didn’t gloat either. Both teams played hard. They played their collective hearts out. Mine too. They made NCAA DIII history at the time as I recall in terms of various statistics.
https://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/Skidmore-S-Vermont-play-longest-game-830043.php
Bottom Line:
So, here it is: G.O.A.T’s aren’t sore losers. Brady isn’t a G.O.A.T. Full stop. He can and should do better. He leaves a sour taste in my mouth and in a world as tough as ours, he is missing a chance to be really great. Sore loser isn’t a strong enough term. Pathetic loser is a better term for Brady. Just plain old pathetic.
