There’s a basic truth when it comes to P.R. problems. Once the situation has subsided, don’t stir it up again.
After more than a week of silence regarding the firestorm of criticism regarding his dual roles as Fox broadcaster and Raiders minority owner, Tom Brady has weighed in.
He probably shouldn’t have. At least not the way he did.
In his latest personal newsletter, Brady blames the criticism on “paranoia and distrust,” while also vouching for his own “duty and integrity.”
Brady focuses initially on the mantra that characterized the Bill Belichick Patriots: “Do your job.” Brady then tries to thread the needle on doing both of his current football jobs.
“As a broadcaster,” Brady says, “I want everyone who tunes into FOX on Sunday afternoons to feel like they got their money’s worth for the three hours they entrust to our entire team. Those are precious hours for busy, hardworking people. We owe them a return on that investment, which is to do our jobs to the best of our abilities. For me, it’s to entertain and inform and to help create a great viewing experience by drawing on the deep well of knowledge and wisdom I have gained from playing high level football for nearly thirty years.”
Of course, Brady doesn’t mention that his ability to provide the best possible broadcast is already limited by guardrails the league has put in place, which prevent him from attending practice or entering any team facilities. Those limits flow directly from his second job.
“As a limited partner in the Raiders, I want the Silver & Black to return to the glory of those amazing years under Al Davis and John Madden,” Brady says. “I want the team to have talented players who have we-first attitudes, who are coachable, who have the right values and do things the right way and know how to do their jobs in pursuit of team success. I have a deep desire to help refresh and reinvigorate the culture of a franchise with cherished traditions and a long, storied history in professional football.”
Citing a “moral and ethical duty to the sport,” Brady claims that “the point where my roles in it intersect is not actually a point of conflict, despite what the paranoid and distrustful might believe.” He explains that, instead, his “ethical duty emerges” from the overlap, with a mission “to grow, evolve, and improve the game that has given me everything.”
Brady then tries to tell anyone who believes that his two roles conflict that they’re wrong.
“When you live through uncertain and untrusting times like we are today, it is very easy to watch a person’s passions and profession intersect, and to believe you’re looking at some sort of dilemma,” Brady says. “Because when you’re blinded by distrust, it’s hard to see anything other than self-interest.
“People who are like that, particularly to a chronic, pathological degree, are telling on themselves. They’re showing you their worldview and how they operate. They’re admitting that they can only conceive of interests that are selfish; that they cannot imagine a person doing their job for reasons that are greater than themselves. (These kinds of people make horrible teammates, by the way.)”
Or maybe, just maybe, it’s possible for good and honest people to not be gullible and naive. To realize that the current “uncertain and untrusting times” exist because bullshit is everywhere. Dismissing those who are constantly on the lookout for people who are trying to get away with something they shouldn’t be trying to get away with as people who must be always trying to get away with something is lazy. And, for Brady, it’s convenient and self-serving.
The problem isn’t the vast majority of people who saw Brady wearing a headset and watching a tablet with Raiders coaches and who realized that his two jobs have conflicting goals and objectives. The problem is that the NFL allows Brady to do it. And Brady, who frankly shouldn’t want to be in that spot, wants us to just take his word for the fact that he can walk the tightrope between having unique access to teams and trying to help one specific team win as many games as possible.
No one can be an ambassador for the entire sport and an owner of one of the teams at the same time. While Brady may not have a specific job to do on game day (unless he’s available to attend a Monday or Thursday game and sit with the coaches), he wants the Raiders to win. Both Raiders coach Pete Carroll and Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, despite quibbling over the details, have admitted that they talk football with Brady. Former Raiders coach Antonio Pierce took it a step farther last week, admitting that Brady shared with Pierce the insights he gathered while enjoying the unprecedented benefit of having access to other games involving other teams.
In this case, the ethical and honorable thing to do would be to not do both jobs. It’s not about actual impropriety, it’s about the appearance of it. The moment Brady was shown sitting with the Raiders coaches, many of those who previously didn’t recognize the problem had an instant epiphany.
Brady, on one hand, wants to elevate the entire sport. On the other hand, he wants to elevate the Raiders. He has the ability to gather information not only about upcoming opponents but also about players and coaches the Raiders may want to employ in the future, especially when on the field before the game begins.
Just because the NFL (despite labeling him as a cheater a decade ago and giving him the same punishment that applies to those who are caught using PEDs) is inexplicably willing to let him do both jobs doesn’t insulate him from criticism for doing both jobs. It’s not about “paranoia and distrust.” It’s about right and wrong.
It’s wrong for Brady to do both jobs. He refuses to see that, either because he’s unwilling or unable to see the problem — or because he believes the rules shouldn’t apply to him.
As I told Dan Patrick the other day, nothing will happen unless and until the Raiders become consistent high-level contenders. At that point, the same energy that is being directed to the Eagles and the tush push will pivot to the Raiders and Brady.
It would have been much better if the league had been willing to tell Brady that it’s impossible for anyone (Brady included) to do both jobs to the best of their abilities. We shouldn’t have to wonder whether Brady is taking notes and (as Pierce has already said) sharing his impressions with the Raiders.
While Brady claims his goal is to lift the sport, the sport itself is a zero-sum game. For every winner, there’s a loser. Brady’s effort to turn a chronic (of late) loser into a winner cannot be reconciled with his effort to “entertain and inform” fans regarding the other 31 teams. Because the latter gives him access to information that can directly assist the former.
Brady’s effort to demonize critics and gaslight bystanders is another byproduct of our times. Truth doesn’t matter. Standards don’t matter. The playbook is: (1) attack; (2) admit nothing and deny everything; and (3) always claim victory, even when losing.
For Brady and the NFL, this continues to be a losing issue.