Tom Brady’s appearance on HBO’s The Shop: Uninterrupted showcases a candid and blunt side of Tom Brady. Unless, of course, he wasn’t being candid and blunt.
During the program, Brady admitted that he rarely speaks his mind, rarely says what he’s thinking.
“What I say versus what I think are two totally different things,” Brady said. “I would say 90 percent of what I say is probably not what I’m thinking. Which is challenging, you know? And I really admire people that actually can do that and say what they think, because they invite a lot of things into their life. And I think part of me that doesn’t like conflict, so in the end I always try to play it super flat.”
Obviously, one reason for being that way flows from the realities of a competitive sport like football.
“From a strategic standpoint, I never want to give away, like, what we’re doing,” Brady said. “Like, I usually say the opposite. You know, they got a shitty corner [and] I’ll be like, ‘That guy’s unbelievable. I don’t even know how they complete balls over there.’ In my mind I’m like, ‘I’m going at that motherf--ker all day.’”
Brady also explained that candor and honesty in reaction to things that others say gives them “power” over him. And he got very close to sleeping-on-the-couch-for-a-few-nights territory when being a little too candid about his spouse’s propensity for candor.
“I try to think a lot before I speak,” Brady said. “Some people, like my wife for example, she just lets it come out. It’s like fooom and it’s out. I’m like, ‘Holy shit.’ And you know what? She’s right. You know, her instinct and her nature is usually right with a lot of things that she says and think[s]. And I’m always like, ‘How does she do that?’ ‘Cause I gotta think about it for five and 10 minutes, you know, and think, ‘How do I really deal with this, you know, particular situation or answer?’ ‘Cause I don’t wanna say something that in the end I’ll be like, "[I] wish I would’ve said something different.’”
Two things come to mind in response to that last part. First, it’s impossible not to think of his wife’s very candid “my husband cannot f–king throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time” remarks from the aftermath of Super Bowl XLVI. Second, it’s also difficult not to think of Brady’s clunky and clumsy and awkward press conference in the days after #Deflategate first emerged.
