Tom Brady is on record saying it may be up to his wife, Gisele Bundchen, when he will retire from the NFL. In an interview with CBS This Morning, Gisele responded to a question about her say in Brady’s retirement plans and dropped a mention of Brady having a concussion last season.
After referencing Brady’s comments in a featured story earlier this week about Brady’s legacy, Charlie Rose asked Gisele if she was trying to get Brady to retire. To which she responded…
“He had a concussion last year,” Gisele said. “I mean, he has concussions, we don’t really talk about, but he does have concussions.”
#NEW: @giseleofficial told @CharlieRose on @CBSThisMorning that Tom Brady had a concussion last year. “He does have concussions.” pic.twitter.com/K4B8ixDN9X
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) May 17, 2017
Well, that’s probably the last thing the NFL wanted to hear this morning. One of the greatest players in league history having concussions that “we don’t talk about” is as close to a worst-case scenario the NFL could be faced with right now. And now the focus will be on Brady’s own history of concussions.
https://twitter.com/Martenzie/status/864840421033291776
There are some questions worth asking here. For starters, were the New England Patriots aware of the concussions suffered by Brady? Specifically, was the team aware of Brady’s supposed concussion last season? If so, why was it not reported? Far be it for the Patriots to skirt around league policies to gain an advantage, of course, but given all of the effort the NFL has placed to try and change the way head injuries are handled league-wide, Brady allegedly slipping through the cracks should raise concern for the league moving forward.
If the Patriots did know about Brady’s concussion, then the league has grounds to weigh in once again, which will surely go over quite well with the masses.
Goodell: "Tom Brady with an unreported concussion?" pic.twitter.com/Ijw5fghmzq
— Sean Malone (@SMalone27) May 17, 2017
https://twitter.com/TravisSelvidge/status/864836459001413633
The NFL implemented a concussion protocol in 2009 and has amended the policy a number of times since its introduction in an effort to better protect players from the impact from blows to the head. The protocol calls to have a player immediately removed from the field once a potential commission is identified. Players are also monitored for a number of days following a suspected concussion.
It is unknown at this time when Brady’s alleged concussion occurred, so it is impossible to tell where the concussion policy may have failed or been violated during the Patriots’ run to the Super Bowl.
[CBS]
