Former NFL great Tom Brady, who will serve as the color commentator for Fox during Super Bowl 59 lashed out on Thursday, Feb. 7 when he made a statement that the referees do not show any bias in favor of the Kansas City Chiefs.
This comes in the wake of complaints on social media and traditional media alike that the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes have received some favorable calls and rulings throughout the 2024 season.
Tom Brady Thinks Chiefs Getting Favorable Treatment Is Nonsense
Brady, who has appeared in 10 Super Bowls as a player and won seven of them, was tired of hearing the belly-aching about the referees making a difference in Kansas City’s wins this regular and postseason.
“I think it’s just all BS. It’s just a bunch of noise,” Brady said. “These refs have very challenging jobs to do. I’m very happy Twitter [now known as X] didn’t exist during the ‘Tuck Rule Game’ in 2001, let me say that. I would’ve been on the wrong end on a lot of those. But these refs are out there trying to do their very best.”
The infamous “Tuck Rule Game” was played at a snowy and miserable Foxboro Stadium in January 2002. Brady, making his playoff debut, was looking to take down the then-named Oakland Raiders in the second round.
The Tuck Rule Game monicker emerged from the controversial play late in the fourth quarter that changed the course of the sport.
With 1:50 left in regulation and the Patriots trailing 13-10, Brady had the football at the Raiders’ 42-yard line with zero timeouts in his pocket.
“The Tuck Rule Game.”
The ruling: an incomplete pass.
The result: the start of a legendary run of postseason success. (2001 Divisional: Jan. 19, 2002) @Patriots pic.twitter.com/skVvwaLWTJ
— NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) January 9, 2019
Star cornerback Charles Woodson, Tom Brady’s former teammate at Michigan, came on an unblocked blitz, resulting in a sack and a fumble recovery for Oakland.
That appeared to have ended the Patriots’ season, right?
Wait a second.
After a review of the initial play, referee Walt Coleman determined that Brady’s throwing arm was going forward, thus resulting in an incomplete pass. It will go down as one of the most controversial calls in NFL playoff history.
“They got to make decisions in a split second, and they’re gonna call what they see, and these guys are some of the most professional people on the field. They just want to do a good job like everyone else,” Brady said.
“And, look, sometimes the calls go your way, sometimes they don’t. In the end, over the course of a 140-play game on both sides of the ball, the players have plenty of opportunities to go out there and make an impact in the game, winning or losing, and that’s what I’m excited to see on Sunday night [at Super Bowl 59].”