Slamming Tom Brady For Bad “Optics” And “Flaunting”

June 24th, 2020

“Joel, I thought the media loved Tom Brady.”

One massive irony of the national uproar over Tom Brady having mask-free workouts at Berkeley Prep in Tampa with about a dozen Buccaneers is that all day long at the Tampa private school, kids and counselors are engaged in summer camp — including sports camps where everyone is seemingly breathing all over each other.

Both events are legal. And last Joe checked, the NFL players union recommendation that players refrain from group workouts hardly qualifies as a government edict.

Has Joe seen those Berkeley Prep camps from the inside since Brady started practicing there? Absolutely. Joe’s seen it first-hand.

But that’s not good enough for the national media police. Bucs beat writer Jenna Laine was on ESPN TV taking shots at Tampa Bay area residents’ collectively and at Brady for the bad optics of his workouts. (See the video below.)

Mike Florio, Joe’s friend and the guru of ProFootballTalk.com, barked at Brady for flaunting the workouts on his social media.

What the heck is going on here?

Brady is not hosting a 70-person team pool party at his house. He didn’t buy a gym in Tamp and fill it with teammates. The guy is engaged in appropriate training in a private outdoor location, a move to prevent crowds from gathering.

If government has society open for business, then Brady deserves zero scrutiny for exercising and talking with his co-workers.

37 Responses to “Slamming Tom Brady For Bad “Optics” And “Flaunting””

  1. SufferingSince76 Says:

    Does Jenna Laine want to be followed around to make sure she is adhering to the COVID-19 guidelines? People pointing fingers better be very sure they are doing what they criticize others for not doing.

  2. TheBucsAnthem Says:

    The media………………..has now become the enemy of the people as of lately 🙁

  3. pick6 Says:

    everything Tom Brady does is a story. He’s loved and criticized in equal parts for every move he makes. just part of the package. now more than ever, media types need strong opinions on stupid topics to keep people coming back

  4. Formerly Tampa 2 Says:

    @BucsAnthem The Media has been the enemy for 3 1/2 years….not just lately.

  5. WillieG Says:

    Mike Florio is a Nancy Boy who was most likely picked on in elementary school for being the class rat and teacher’s pet. I stopped going to his website because busy bodies like him piss me off.

  6. Don_RyJo(e) Says:

    I think what this comes down to is a difference in priorities: the media wants Brady to be a “good role model” for the civilians (encouraging them to social distance by example) and BRADY wants to be a “good role model” for his teammates (encouraging them to give everything they have now so they can have success later). I hate to be a selfish fan (actually that’s not true…I don’t care too much), but I think Brady is making the right choice.

  7. John Says:

    Florio is an idiot, that site has become so political that i dont even think he realizes it.. Ive stopped visiting that site.

  8. John Says:

    @bucsanthem The Media has always been the enemy.. They have a narrative they wish to spin.. Chaos = ratings to them.. Division = ratings to them.. There is no news anymore its all opinion..

  9. Iron Wombat Says:

    no one cares about the Chinese lung aids anymore.
    Well except the people you see driving alone. wearing gloves and masks with the windows up. Those people care and they want you to know they care.

  10. Bush's Coke Spoon Says:

    >>What the heck is going on here?<<
    .
    .

    Be glad you are free and independent. Working for The Man means much more and is more insidious than what we ever knew.

    Your soul is not worth it.

  11. Bush's Coke Spoon Says:

    Formerly Tampa 2 Says:
    “The Media has been the enemy for 3 1/2 years….not just lately.”
    .
    .

    I’m thinking more like 50 or 100 years. They are just recently open and unashamed about it.

  12. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Here’s another one for you, Joe……”workout flaunting” Tom Brady…….the options are endless for you……they come on a daily basis…..take the bait.

  13. Alaskan Abdominal Snowman Says:

    The only optics Brady cares about comes from his teammates. How they perceive him is much more valuable than how the media views him. At the end of the day Brady knows winning rinses all sins and this is hardly a terrible thing. It’s not like he’s forcing anyone to come or inviting hundreds of people and children to attend. This will all be soon forgotten when we have some actual games to talk about.

  14. Perimeter Blocker Says:

    My doctor himself doesn’t wear a mask and says it would be like the flu if you got it. If you are scared stay home! You have that freedom. “I’ll take the gamble” 🙄

  15. ftmyersbuc Says:

    Well Ms. Jenna and co. Have you considered that given Tom Brady and his teammates resources, they most likely have self administered sickness tests. So one would assume all at this private, isolated, and outdoor workout would be fully protected from said sickness. Now if this is unfair to you and viewed as flaunting abs bad optics, because not everyone had this luxury let me ask this. How about when you ms. Laine post pictures in your car or eating at a nice restaurant. Is that flaunting and bad optics for those who cannot afford such luxuries? I mean it’s not fair to them is it? Please stop the madness.

  16. Buczilla Says:

    Seems like people are so uptight about any little thing nowadays. Brady and whatever other Bucs are there, are grown a$$ men and can do whatever they want, so long as it’s legal.

    I share some other posters concerns as well when it comes to Mike Florio. Love his show, Chris Simms puts out excellent stuff, and I visit his website frequently. He has come off as very “holier than thou” recently though and it’s getting old. When someone draws a line in the sand and says your opinion has got to be 100% in line with mine, not 98%, but 100%, then we have a problem. Very few people would be willing to put up with that nonsense.

  17. a-bomb Says:

    Anybody who puts out opinions or information that you don’t like is an “enemy of the people?” Wow, straight from the Goebbles play book.

  18. Hodad Says:

    Here’s the deal, you want sports? You want your kids to go to school? The genie is out of the bottle, Covid is here. It’s not going to get better anytime soon. I just got my medicare card. I’m retired, but work some painting jobs with a friend part time. Today I was painting inside a dentist’s office while business was going on. We kept our distance, but wearing a mask while working is impossible. I’m living my life, I suggest you do the same.

  19. Mike28277 Says:

    Agree 100% with John’s second post. Opining for $$$

  20. Hamsadwitchtime Says:

    Just win Baby!!!!!

  21. unbelievable Says:

    “The media has been the enemy for 3 1/2 years… because they have the audacity to report on our incompetent leadership! Why can’t they just lie to us and cover up all the corruption?”

    LOLOLOLOLOL some of you are such snowflakes.

    And of course they’re talking about everything Brady does- it’s Tom frickin Brady! Us Bucs fans just aren’t used to having superstars like this.

    And Brady has done nothing wrong, as Joe pointed out. BSPN just craves drama.

  22. Craig Says:

    It has to be hard to be a sports analyst in a world with no sports. They see a little blurb someplace and have to expand and expound it to a 5 minute piece.

    By the fourth game of the season you will know why he did it, he wants to blow the rest of the league away. He wants a chance to beat Mahomes.

    It will all come out in the wash and all the inane bull of a season without sports will be swept under the AstroTurf, like the fluff piece it is.

  23. unbelievable Says:

    ““The Media has been the enemy for 3 1/2 years…” (because they have the audacity to report on our incompetent and corrupt leadership).

    LOL, so many snowflakes around here

  24. unbelievable Says:

    And of course they report on everything Brady does-
    it’s Tom frickin Brady! (in my best Peter Griffin voice).

    BSPN is also always desperate for drama, and especially so right now without any real sports going on.

  25. 541BucsFan Says:

    Brady, COVID, BLM, Brady, COVID, BLM, Brady, COVID, BLM, Brady, COVID, BLM, Brady, COVID, BLM, Brady, COVID, BLM, Brady, COVID, BLM, Brady, COVID, BLM, Brady, COVID, BLM, Brady, COVID, BLM …

    Hey, it could be worse. We could still be talking about Winston.

  26. cmurda Says:

    When growing up, I was taught not to believe everything on TV. All of a sudden Millenials believe everything on TV. The current crapstorm from the Socialist media is truly scary. The sad part is the sheeple buy it. Every last bit of it. Tom Brady not practicing with masks on? Not allowed to have workouts with teammates? GTFOH

  27. unbelievable Says:

    lol 541

  28. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    It’s all good, unless they all get C-19 and have to be quarantined instead of reporting to camp. I’m in favor of the practices…but the fact that there is no testing bothers me.

    Why?

    Because teams will no let players in the building if they test positive.

    And, by the way:

    • Young people ARE dying from it, just not in the large numbers that the elderly are

    • You CAN get the virus multiple times. The myth that you can only get it once has been proven wrong all over.

    • The claim that it is no worse than the flu is a horrible misconception. This is generated by people listening to the wrong people, reading social media stories, and such.

    • I’ve been in touch with 6 medical professionals, and the all take this very serious. Of them, three are doctors, two are nurses, and one is a director at a hospital locally. The doctors each work at different locations (hospitals).

    • Florida went from over 3,000 new infections daily to over 4,000 daily, and then in the past day they jumped to 5,500 in a day.

    I want football to happen as much as anyone else here, because if it does, I really feel this is the Bucs year to go all of the way.

    But if we really want that to happen, people better start taking this seriously, because eventually, the state may forcefully lock it down, and that will cancel the NFL season because the NFL stated that all states with a team must allow the NFL teams to play, or they will not allow any teams to play.

    So I look at it like this: do what we can to stop it now, so that the decision is not taken out of our hands.

    And for those saying it is not a big deal?
    What will you say when, contrary to what you are being told at this point, the state and counties all start forcing things?

    Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas are all doing it in regard to masks. If things were not getting worse, would they do that? The governor might be saying everything is getting better, but the truth is the local governments are not agreeing, or they would not be placing restrictions.

  29. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    cmurda Says
    “The current crapstorm from the Socialist media is truly scary.”

    I’m a conservative, and I have to ask: If the conservative message is that things are improving…then why are restrictions being forced on people now?

    Answer? Because they are not really getting better. They are getting worse.

    Northern states are forcing quarantines now on anyone from Florida. Why? If things are getting better???

  30. Pryda...sec147 Says:

    Jenna u suck ! Smh ESPN has ruined u

  31. «Delusional Intelligence» Says:

    Someone might want to remind the creator, curator and overall guru of Pro Football Talk, the great Mike Florio of the NFLPA’s own mission statements and description from their website.


    The NFLPA:
    -Represents all players in matters concerning wages, hours and working conditions and protects their rights as professional football players
    -Makes sure that the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) are met
    -Negotiates and monitors retirement and insurance benefits
    -Provides other member services and activities
    -Provides assistance to charitable and community organizations
    -Enhances and defends the image of players and their profession on and off the field”

    Florio likes to create a story when he can.

    With all the craziness of Main Stream Media & Social Media, I move to rename the propagandist machine – EMOTIONAL MEDIA

  32. «Delusional Intelligence» Says:

    541BucsFan Says:

    “Hey, it could be worse. We could still be talking about Winston.”

    ROFL or letting Michael Bennett go.

  33. D1 Says:

    ” You CAN get the virus multiple times. The myth that you can only get it once has been proven wrong all over.”
    Bonzai.

    “Myth”? I’m guessing it was a myth in your mind. There’s no argument to the contrary.

    And , no its not been proven wrong all over….. In fact, as the evidence grows , it isn’t supporting re-infection.

    Where do you get the notion it is proven all over?

  34. Anonymous Says:

    Hey, Formerly Tampa 2
    You are right about the media being called out for the past 3 1/2 years. As for the “being the Enemy” not sure that is accurate. Many of the “Enemy media” are only asking questions of and reporting about Quotes, or tweets or administrative policy. If these things get them called the “Enemy” we as a Free Republic are standing on a slippery slope.. There are two TV media’s that are not the evil “Emeny” media. Crazy how they get the pass, ain’t it? {Jumps off his soap box}

    Go Bucs!

  35. Señor Harry in Costa Rica Says:

    …But that’s not good enough for the national media police….

    What the heck is going on here?”

    Clearly Joe, Brady is…. “AMERICA’s QUARTERBACK”!!

    It is a shame that moniker is already taken. It would have been so perfect, right?

  36. BringBucsBack Says:

    We all know that the season is over if Brady can’t play. I wish they’d all wear a mask, just as they probably will be doing during the games, if there are any.

    Mainstream media is and has been owned PRVATELY by a small number of people and companies for over a century, all are in favor of the current system (capitalism) that allows, and supports a 1% controlling 90+% of ‘Merica’s wealth. It’s called a plutocracy. If you want real news you’ll have to search a little harder for it than just turning on your tele or repeating something you read on your Uncle Steve’s InstaFace timeline.

  37. Buddhaboy19 Says:

    You can’t please the MOB, ever. And certainly don’t apologize like that Ditch azz Drew BRees did.

    What a chump aplogizing for saying he will alwasy stand for the flag.

    The MOB will come for you next!!!!