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Tom Brady risks NFL discipline for being ‘egregiously critical of officiating’
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- Tom Brady risks NFL discipline for being ‘egregiously critical of officiating’
Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Tom Brady's work as a Fox analyst, while also owning a stake in the Las Vegas Raiders, has begun to run into league restrictions on how much he can say about game officiating.
As part of the conditions tied to his ownership stake, the seven-time Super Bowl champion is prohibited from publicly criticizing game officials. According to Pro Football Talk , the league says he cannot be "egregiously critical of officiating" or "call into question the integrity of an official or the crew."
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On Sunday, Brady called the Green Bay Packers-Detroit Lions game and criticized multiple officiating calls, raising the question of whether his comments could be considered "egregious."
In the fourth quarter, Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes was flagged for an illegal hit on Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd, and Brady did not hold back.
"What?" Brady said, via Pro Football Talk . "There's no way… Oh, come on, man. Come on. [Jordan] Love throws it over the middle. There's linebackers in the middle. He's just turning his right shoulder away from it. That's allowed 99 out of 100 [times]… It's a bang-bang play. I know in super slow-mo every little minute frame looks like a lot, but when you're on the field, you've got to pursue that ball. If [Lloyd] catches it, [Barnes] needs force to knock him on the ground. He needs force to knock that ball out… He can't go in there and put his hand on him."
During the Lions' game-winning drive, Packers defensive tackle Karl Brooks was hit with a roughing-the-passer penalty after a hit on Detroit quarterback Jared Goff, which Brady called a "bang-bang play."
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"Oh my goodness, what is that?" Brady added. "There's no way! Brooks on the tackle. Kind of makes a great play. It's a bang-bang play. He rolls off his body. It's a great throw by Goff. It's definitely not roughing the passer. I mean, you just — you're just ripping through the line of scrimmage to try to get the quarterback on the ground. Look, I love Goff standing there in the pocket. But you just can't keep tacking on 15 yards."
Brady wasn't alone in questioning the calls.
"It wasn't late," Fox rules analyst (and former NFL senior V.P. of officiating) Dean Blandino said. "They might have said head/neck area. But this is not head/neck area. His head is up. That's teach-tape tackle. That's not roughing the passer."
If the league does decide to punish Brady for his comments, a first-time fine could cost him $500,000 under his broadcast agreement, according to Heavy .
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