Feuding? While Tom Brady emotionally asked Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans to have empathy for former teammate Antonio Brown after his now-viral NFL exit, the receiver has claimed his former teammate does not have his support.
“It’s nothing personal, Tom is actually one of my close friends,” Brown, 33, explained why he didn’t follow the quarterback, 44, on social media during an appearance on the “FULL SEND” podcast on Friday, January 7. “Some people have a different definition of a friend because when I say you’re gonna be a friend, that means I got your back. To me though, that’s what a friend means.”
The Masked Singer alum then opened up about friendship in the professional sports arena, noting that not all teammates provide that loyal type of bond he was offering.
“Tom Brady’s my friend, why, because I’m a good football player? These guys called me to win the Super Bowl, not for the toilet bowl,” he claimed. “They didn’t say, ‘AB, we’re having problems with the toilet over here in Tampa. You think you could flush the s—t down and help up out?’ No.”
Brown, for his part, alleged that Brady saw him “run through” his former team, the New England Patriots, before asking him to join the Bucs because “AB’s a professional” and “one of the greatest football players of all time.”
After Brown expressed that he was a dependable and capable athlete that the Florida-based team could “count” on, he further alleged that there was a major salary discrepancy between his fellow athletes.
“Tom can’t do nothing by himself, this is a football game,” Brown told the podcast hosts. “If Tom Brady’s my boy, why am I playing for an earnest salary? You my boy, though, right? [Rob] Gronkowski is his boy, right? How much did he get paid? So, why is AB on a prove-it deal? Who’s better than me over there? Let’s be real.”
He continued: “It’s about being a realistic human. Brady can’t do s—t by himself. But, you guys going to make it seem like he’s just this heroic guy. Bro, we all humans. Bro, we’re all dependent on somebody else to do the job.”
Brady, for his part, has yet to publicly address the Miami native’s recent claims.
The Dancing With the Stars alum made headlines one week earlier after he walked off the field in the middle of the Bucs’ game against the New York Jets. During the January 2 game, he pulled off his helmet and jersey, running off the field mid-play.
“He is no longer a Buc,” head coach Bruce Arians told reporters shortly after the game ended. “That’s the end of the story. Let’s talk about the guys that were out there and won the game.”
Since then, Brown released a lengthy statement that he was let go from the team after an ankle injury, claiming that he had to play despite the pain. The NFL team had since refuted his allegations.
“While Antonio did receive treatment on his ankle and was listed on the injury report the week leading up to last Sunday’s game, he was cleared to play by our medical team prior to the start of the game and at no point during the game did he indicate to our medical personnel that he could not play,” a statement from the Buccaneers read earlier this week. “We have attempted, multiple times throughout this week, to schedule an evaluation by an outside orthopedic specialist, yet Antonio has not complied. Maintaining the health and wellness of our players is of the utmost importance to our organization.”
