Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady’s still-unexplained absence for 11 days of training camp continues to be a hot topic in league circles. And things are about to get even hotter, in more ways than one.
The New York Post reports, via its notorious Page Six gossip column, that Brady and his wife, Gisele Bundchen, have had “a series of heated arguments” after Brady decided to return to the NFL earlier this year, following a 40-day retirement.
It’s no surprise, frankly. With Brady gone for nearly two weeks and the reasons for it being kept tightly under wraps, there had been plenty of speculation that it had something to do with Mr. and Mrs. Brady -- especially since Mr. Brady was out of football for roughly six weeks until he was suddenly back in.
On one hand, it’s their own private, personal business. On the other hand, how much of any very public relationship can ever be private when the two members of it are among the most popular and recognizable people in the world? While it’s a far cry from the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard mess (literally) from earlier this year, the price of a very public life is that nothing about your life is ever truly private.
Again, the complete absence of any official explanation for the unprecedented training-camp hiatus by one of the greatest players in the history of team sports invites not only speculation but also efforts to report on the reasons for it.
To date, Brady has explained the situation simply by saying, “I’m 45 years old, man. There’s a lot of shit going on.” Gisele may not appreciate having these issues, if there’s anything to them, being described in those terms.
Meanwhile, the folks at the Post who went with this story may soon have a lot of shit going on soon, given that the Post is owned by the same family that owns Fox Sports, which eventually will play Tom Brady $37.5 million per year for a decade.
