Tom Brady: Trump's attacks on NFL players 'just divisive'

President Donald Trump’s critical remarks over the weekend about NFL players who kneel during the national anthem were “just divisive,” New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said in a radio interview Monday morning.

“Yeah, I certainly disagree with what he said. I thought it was just divisive," Brady said Monday morning on WEEI, a Boston sports talk radio station. “I just want to support my teammates. I am never one to say, ‘Oh, that is wrong. That is right.’ I do believe in what I believe in. I believe in bringing people together and respect and love and trust. Those are the values that my parents instilled in me.”


Trump launched a weekend-long tirade Friday night at a rally in Alabama against NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, telling the crowd, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now — he’s fired.’”

That remark, plus a flurry of online posts condemning the NFL and its players over the anthem protests, seemed only to inspire more players to take a knee during Sunday’s games. At least a handful of players from nearly every team dropped to a knee during the anthem on Sunday, while some teams stood with arms linked in a show of unity. In several cases, team owners joined their players in linking arms on the sideline.

The Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers opted to remain in their locker rooms while the anthem was performed at their games. Only one Steeler, offensive lineman and former Army Ranger Alejandro Villanueva, stood near the field during the anthem before Pittsburgh’s Sunday game against Chicago.

On Brady’s Patriots’, some players opted to kneel, prompting boos from some in the New England crowd. The five-time Super Bowl winning quarterback said he heard the boos and did not blame the crowd for them.

“Everyone has the right to do whatever they want to do. If you don’t agree, that is fine. You can voice your disagreement, I think that is great,” he said. “It’s part of our democracy. As long as it is done in a peaceful, respectful way, that is what our country has been all about.”

While numerous players, owners and league officials were critical of the president’s attack against the NFL, the fact that Brady spoke out against Trump was notable because the two are friends. While the New England quarterback has taken pains not to discuss politics since Trump’s rise to power, Brady kept a Trump “Make America Great Again” hat in his locker where it could be seen by reporters during a 2015 interview.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft, another friend of Trump’s who donated to his inaugural committee, was also critical of the president’s attacks against the NFL, calling the remarks divisive.

Brady’s friendship with Trump dates to 2002, the quarterback told WEEI in 2015, praising the then-candidate by remarking that “it's pretty amazing what he's been able to accomplish” and adding that “he obviously appeals to a lot of people, and he's a hell of a lot of fun to play golf with." In a separate 2015 interview, Brady said, “It would be great” if Trump were elected president, a statement he later walked back.

As the president’s political candidacy picked up steam and controversy, Brady seemed increasingly inclined toward distancing himself from Trump, who has nonetheless continued to speak warmly of the Patriot’s quarterback. Brady was not among the Patriots who visited the White House last April, canceling his participation at the last minute.

