Brady to Oprah: Players taking a knee sparked ‘good, healthy conversations'

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Tom Brady told Oprah Winfrey that NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem last season led to "a lot of good, healthy conversations in our locker room" and he respects why some players chose to do it.

Winfrey's conversation with Brady will air Sunday at 11 a.m. on her OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) channel. A few clips were released Thursday. If you're looking to find out why he stayed away from voluntary OTAs or if there are issues with his coach, they weren't addressed in these highlights. Still, among them is the Patriots quarterback's response to Winfrey's question about how his team handled the controversy when NFL players "taking a knee," as she said, "divided the country."

"I think there were a lot of really good healthy conversations coming out of it in our locker room...," Brady said. "[In his playing career] I've been with guys from all different parts of the country. Every color, race, belief. I respect why people are doing what they're doing. They're doing it for different reasons and that's OK. We had meetings after practice talking about how we wanted to deal with that particular situation. We chose to lock arms and we put arms around each other. We support what people are going through. Everybody comes from something different...You better have that respect for everybody. That's what sports are about."

Here's are the clips:

Brady also touched on his spirituality and love of learning, themes he also explored in his "Tom vs. Time" Facebook documentary. 

And on his nine-year marriage to supermodel Gisele Bundchen

"She flies in the sky," Brady said. "She's so creative and visionary. And I'm very rooted. So, she stretches me in ways that, without her, I couldn't be stretched."

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