You’ve gotta be kidding me.
At around 2 p.m. on Saturday, ESPN reporter, Jeff Darlingotn and ESPN Senior NFL Insider, Adam Shefter, reported that after 22 years, Tom Brady was retiring.
…2 words. FAKE. NEWS.
My immediate reaction: Pretty shocked. Sad. Nostalgic. My Mom: teary-eyed. I call my Dad. He says there’s no way. So I look back at the initial report and all I keep seeing is the phrase, “sources said”, “sources said”, “sources said”. Uhm…who are these sources?
I roll my eyes because I just never trust articles that say that. How are we supposed to trust that they’re not made up or that the source isn’t Joe Shmo who lives a couple blocks away from Brady and heard rumors throughout town?
So the tributes and kind words start flooding in from players and fans. As everyone does these days, everybody rushed to conclusions. I’m not trying to sound like a know-it-all or anything of that sort, but I’m studying journalism in school. If I hand in an article that does not contain three credible sources, I get points deducted. So why in God’s name is this report everywhere and anywhere being reported by so called credible and reliable publications?!
All of a sudden, we start hearing the report is false. Brady hadn’t told the Buccs he was retiring and a few hours later, we hear Coach Arians say that Brady called them saying he was nowhere near close to making his decision. His father, Tom Sr., said the same. So what is this?
We see, right in front of our very eyes, the exact (and one of the biggest) problems in modern journalism and media which is the need to be first despite the risk of inaccuracy. What is the point of that? If you publish a report or full article with an overpowering motive to be first, and you’re lacking accurate information and in this case, direct confirmation from Brady, what is the point in even reporting anything?
The initial report basically consisted of a few sentences stating who was reporting it and that there were “sources”. That’s a pile of manure. It’s also Shefter’s Rodgers situation all over again.
Think back to draft day of last year. Completely out of the blue, Shefter goes on NFL Network saying Aaron Rodgers was no longer a Packer. That was far from the truth.
Was that topic/issue being discussed behind closed doors? Absolutely. But there was no cause for a report of that manner.
Everyone knows Tom Brady. Whether you like him or not, that’s your business. It gets joked about a lot but he should be classified and labeled as a G.O.A.T. He is obviously a future Hall of Famer. He’s a 45-year old NFL player with seven rings. He deserves respect which means he deserves to make his own retirement announcement under his own terms, in his own way, whenever he wants. This may happen during this offseason or next year. This could even happen years from now because he is basically immortal.
Brady has done things that have never been done before and we have all been fortunate enough to watch him play football which means we’ve witnessed history. Now, sometimes NFL players and teams will leak their own information or story just to see what happens and to get a feel of how the general public will react.
If that’s what Brady did, then that’s pretty funny. As a take from me, I don’t really see Brady pursuing/using this “leak game” because he’s Brady. He doesn’t care what people think about him. That’s why he is where he is and why he is who he is. Once again, 22 years in the league with seven rings under his belt at 45-years old. He does whatever he wants and as he should.
As of right now, Tom Brady is an iconic starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the National Football League. So let him be and leave him alone.
More people should focus on the story of the tortoise and the hare.
Comment below your thoughts on this ruckus! 🙂
