Tom Brady On Trump Comments: 'Divisive'

FOXBOROUGH, MA — After months of staying silent on anything President Donald Trump has said, a shot at NFL players has caused Tom Brady to speak up on his friend.

Speaking on WEEI's Kirk and Callahan, Brady said he disagreed with Trump when he said at a rally in Alabama Friday that players who kneel during the National Anthem should be fired.

"Yeah, I certainly disagree with what he said. I thought it was just divisive," Brady said Monday morning. "Like I said, I just want to support my teammates. I am never one to say, ‘Oh, that is wrong. That is right.’ I do believe in what I believe in. I believe in bringing people together and respect and love and trust. Those are the values that my parents instilled in me. That is how I try and live every day."

Trump caused a league-wide protest Sunday, with several players, including about 17 Patriots, taking a knee during the anthem. Others, including Brady, stood with armed linked to their teammates. A few teams even refused to be on the field during the anthem, which was standard operating procedure until 2009.

The remarks are a change in tone for Brady, who spent the 2016 campaign awkwardly trying to distance himself from Trump. while trying to remain supportive of his friend, often saying that he wished him the best but stopped short of an endorsement. It's also one of the few times that Brady has addressed something Trump has said, often declining comment and in the instance of when he was asked about Trump's locker room talk comment, walking away with no response.

Later Monday afternoon, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick released a statement that read:

"I have immense respect and admiration for our players, for how they conduct themselves professionally as New England Patriots and for how they represent themselves, their families and community as men. I have coached football for over four decades and one of the greatest things about being in this environment is the diversity of people, backgrounds, viewpoints and relationships we are fortunate to experience. As with any large group of people, there is a variety of perspectives and opinions on many topics. Discussions occur between myself, individual players, groups and the entire team on an ongoing basis. They concern the team and other issues surrounding the team. I am going to keep the specifics of those conversations private. I will do what I feel is best for the team in my role as head coach and collectively, we will work together to find the best way to proceed.”

Meanwhile, former Patriot Matt Light told the Boston Herald that the gesture made him ashamed to be a Patriot, telling the paper that such a thing would have never happened during his tenure on the team.

Cover Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images