Getty Tom Brady Bucs
Which rules apply to Tom Brady? It seems like that question is an evershifting paradigm.
Brady had his run-ins with commissioner Roger Goodell while on the Patriots. He was suspended for Deflategate and New England has been accused of espionage on several occasions during Brady’s tenure in Foxborough. Now, as arguably the greatest QB of all time moves to Tampa Bay, he already has a list of infractions against his name.
NFLPA Urges Players To Stop Working Out
In addition to his other violations this offseason, Brady continues to work out with his new Buccaneers teammates despite the warning of the NFLPA to stop.
“Please be advised that it is our consensus medical opinion that in light of the increase in COVID-19 cases in certain states that no players should be engaged in practicing together in private workouts,” Dr. Thom Mayer, the NFLPA medical director, said in an email to all players. “Our goal is to have all players and your families as healthy as possible in the coming months.
Florida is one of those states seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases. The NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning has closed their facility because of it and the MLB’s Phillies closed their spring training facility as a result of it.
“We are working on the best mitigation procedures at team facilities for both training camps and the upcoming season, and believe that it is in the best interest of all players that we advise against any voluntary joint practices before training camp commences,” Mayer continued.
Brady is leading workouts with both offensive and defensive players, according to Pro Football Talk.
Brady led teammates through a two-hour workout which started around 7 a.m. The workout included defensive backs Jamel Dean, Sean Murphy-Bunting, and Mike Edwards, along with receivers Chris Godwin and Scotty Miller and tight end Rob Gronkowski. Quarterbacks Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin, and center Ryan Jensen also have been fixtures at the Berkeley Prep workouts and participated Tuesday.
Brady’s Offseason of Violations
Earlier in the offseason, Brady was in the news for breaking Florida’s stay-at-home order on at least two occasions, including one where he accidentally broke into some one’s home, believing that it was offensive coordinator’s Byron Leftwich’s house.
“I literally was just sitting here and I watch this tall guy just walk into my house,” David Kramer said via TMZ. “He didn’t even look at me. He just like dropped his duffel bags down on the floor and just kind of like looked up at me and I’ll never forget the look on his face. . . . He just goes, ‘Am I in the wrong house?!’”
Brady wasn’t arrested for breaking and entering, though it’s possible the league could take some sort of disciplinary action for the incident, as he was not supposed to be meeting with members of his new team.
“Totally illegal,” a connected source told Mike Florio of NBC Sports. “They should be fined. Plus, I bet those duffel bags had footballs in them.”
Breaking offseason protocol has resulted in a fine previously, so it seems like a suspension is not in the cards.
Brady was also in the news for being in a public park earlier this offseason. That park was closed because of COVID-19 and the QB was ushered out of it. In this case, Tampa Bay’s Mayor apologized to Brady for enforcing the law.
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