Tom Brady’s Super Bowl LV-winning performance thrilled Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans and shattered all-time NFL records, but some liberals weren’t in the mood to celebrate.
Not just a game: The commentators couldn’t enjoy watching on Sunday as Brady completed 21 of 29 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Bucs to a 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
- Nor were they impressed that Brady, 43, dominated with last season’s worst team or that the Super Bowl trophy he held aloft was the seventh of his career — more than any other player or even team has ever managed.
Instead, among the diehard Brady haters on the left, his latest triumph was seen as a loss for their crusade against former president Donald Trump and “white supremacy.”
- A number of Twitter users on Sunday night bitterly recalled Brady’s one-time support of and friendship with Trump, including a famous 2015 image of a “MAGA” cap in his locker.
- “I don’t care how many rings Tom Brady has, he’s a trump supporter so he’ll always be a loser in my book,” said progressive Twitter personality Progressive Dad Defiant in a viral post. “A loser with 7 rings.”
- In a series of tweets, artist and racial justice activist Bree Newsome suggested those saying Brady is an all-time great athlete were joining him in perpetuating “ongoing systemic discrimination against Black athletes.”
A handful of Trump allies, conversely, tried to give Trump a share of Brady’s glory.
- “Trump Supporter Tom Brady Secures Seventh Super Bowl Victory, First with Buccaneers” blared a headline on Big League Politics, a right-wing blog.
- “Congrats to fellow #FloridaMan and #Trump supporter @TomBrady on yet another dominant #SuperBowl victory!” tweeted Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican.
Others on the right made explicit their joy in seeing Brady win the Super Bowl following a week of heightened criticism of his Trump ties and race.
- Conservative commentator Ann Coulter on Sunday night resurfaced a “jackass USA Today op-ed” that argued Brady’s ability to not denounce Trump was “the height of white privilege.”
At a press conference last Monday, Brady was asked to respond to similar criticism from Fox Sports presenter Shannon Sharpe.
- “I’m not sure how to respond to hypothetical questions like that,” Brady replied.
