Did Patriots' Tom Brady stage his own silent protest?
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been in the news all week for his choice of silent protest, but he may not have been the only signal-caller making a statement on Thursday night.
As he watched the New England Patriots play the New York Giants in their preseason finale, eagle-eyed Patriots fan Eric Penza noticed that Tom Brady’s helmet was missing something: the small NFL logo decal.
[Related: Santa Clara police might not work 49ers games over Colin Kaepernick]
The decal is supposed to be on the left-back of players’ helmets. Other New England players, like running back D.J. Foster, had the decal, but Brady did not.
So was Brady, in his own way, making a statement against the NFL?
It appears he did:
Brady had his name dragged through the mud thanks to the deflate-gate saga and the Wells Report, and after fighting for over 500 days, decided to give up his legal battle against the league after an appeals court ruled in favor of the NFL and reinstated his four-game suspension.
[ Play Yahoo Fantasy Football for free | Mock Draft now | Rankings | Draft Kit ]
Brady also went sans sticker the week before, when New England played the Carolina Panthers:
Looking at older photos of Brady at games, he does have the NFL sticker on his helmet.
A team spokesman said he was unaware whether Brady purposely removed the sticker, and his agent, Don Yee, did not return an email. Brady’s suspension officially begins on Saturday afternoon and ends on Monday, Oct. 3.
