Tom Brady Complains About 'Ridiculous Penalties' Via Twitter During Thursday Night Football
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady: He's just like us!
The superstar quarterback sat down to enjoy some football on Thursday night, with the Titans and Jaguars kicking off Week 3 in Jacksonville. However, in a first half filled with yellow flags flying left and right (including a holding penalty on the very first snap of the night), Brady had seen enough.
The QB took to his Twitter account -- which is generally reserved for dad jokes and pump-up videos -- to vent about what he was seeing.
"Too many penalties. Just let us play!!!!" Brady tweeted, adding the #TENvsJAC hashtag to ensure the world knew which game he was referencing.
Too many penalties. Just let us play!!!! #TENvsJAC
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) September 20, 2019
That tweet immediately gained some steam, and just minutes later, Kamalei Correa was penalized 15 yards for roughing the passer -- a penalty that appeared to be quite questionable.
That led to Brady firing off another tweet.
"I'm turning off this game I can't watch these ridiculous penalties anymore," Brady tweeted.
I'm turning off this game I can't watch these ridiculous penalties anymore #TENvsJAC
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) September 20, 2019
Some astute Twitter users noted that that tweet may have been sent with tongue planted firmly in cheek, as Brady has been the beneficiary of a decent number of roughing the passer penalties where the passer was not particularly roughed. On Thursday alone, Brady was at the center of an officiating discussing after a Dolphins linebacker told the media that a referee told him to stay off Brady during Sunday's game.
However, joking or not, Brady's commentary was quite popular -- even among enemies. Jets safety Jamal Adams, who's been complaining this week about a $21,000 fine for a roughing the passer penalty he committed vs the Browns on Monday night, seemed to appreciate someone of Brady's stature speaking out against the officiating in the NFL.
Mood. https://t.co/ULDm8tUB8V
— Jamal Adams (@Prez) September 20, 2019
(Maybe that will lead to Adams going easy on Brady if he gets a chance to deliver a shot on Sunday afternoon.)
(Probably not.)
The tweet even made its way onto the TV broadcast, with play-by-play announcer Joe Buck telling Troy Aikman, "Over the last handful of minutes, we've lost a viewer."
After Buck informed Aikman of the tweet, Aikman said, "Hey, when Tom Brady speaks, there's a whole lot of people that listen. Maybe this will change things. We'll all be thanking Tom Brady."
Aikman added: "Tom Brady, one of the least controversial people that we have in our game. I mean, he is league royalty. And when he makes a statement like that, that should get somebody's attention. I agree, this is ridiculous -- again, this week."
Coincidentally, immediately after Buck and Aikman discussed Brady's tweet ... a penalty was called on Tennessee.
In total, there were 10 accepted penalties in the first half alone, plus three more penalties that were declined.
UPDATE: Brady spoke to reporters on Friday afternoon, and naturally, he was asked about his tweets.
Brady said he wasn't criticising officiating in his tweets last night. Said he's very "pro-ref."
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) September 20, 2019
Carl Cheffers will be the referee for Sunday's game. Expect Brady to inform Cheffers of that "pro-ref" stance before the game kicks off.