Brady Fitted For Ring #6
• It’s now Day 7 of “The Tom Brady Situation™” — against the high profile backdrop of Super Bowl Week, sports fans continue to dissect and digest the fallout from the ill-advised comments made on WEEI/Boston by — and subsequent suspension of — Alex Reimer, a columnist and blogger on WEEI.com, who, after watching the first episode of Tom vs. Time, now infamously referred to Brady’s five-year-old daughter as “an annoying little pissant.” That comment, made last Thursday, earned Reimer an indefinite benching during what could be a historic week for Boston sports.
The timing of Reimer’s remark was doubly unfortunate, given that, a) the comments happened under the white-hot media glare of Super Bowl Week, and b) Just last week, Entercom had renewed a multi-year deal with the Patriots that included weekly appearances by Brady and Pat’s coach Bill Belichick on WEEI’s Patriots Monday broadcasts.
On Monday morning, during his weekly appearance on WEEI’s Kirk & Callahan Show, Brady cut the segment short after two minutes, commenting, “I’ve tried to come on this show for many years and showed you guys a lot of respect. I’ve always tried to come on and do a good job for you guys. It’s very disappointing when you hear that, certainly. My daughter, or any child, they certainly don’t deserve that.” He added, “I really don’t have much to say about it this morning. Maybe I’ll speak to you guys some other time,” before ending the interview.
Naturally, the story followed Brady to Minneapolis — during the Patriots’ Super Bowl Media Night, Brady said of Reimer, “I would certainly hope the guy is not fired. I would hate for that to happen. He added, “I just think any parent is protective of their kids. I never stayed away from criticism. I understand criticism is part of sports. But I certainly don’t think my children or any other children deserve to be in that. That’s how I felt. We all have careers and we all make mistakes, and I would hate to have someone have to change their life over something like that. That was certainly not what he intended.”
Entercom issued a formal statement, that read, “We are disappointed and embarrassed by Alex Reimer’s on-air comments made last Thursday. His remarks were utterly indefensible, and mean-spirited commentary directed in any way at children is wholly inappropriate. Mr. Reimer remains suspended indefinitely from all WEEI platforms. We deeply regret what happened and offer our sincerest apologies to Tom Brady, his daughter and his family, as well as the New England Patriots organization. Mr. Brady has been a longtime contributor to WEEI throughout his Patriots career, and he has treated us with the utmost professionalism and respect throughout the partnership. We have communicated our course of action to the Patriots and Tom Brady, and they are in support of our disciplinary response.” [Brady photo: screen grab]
