Fox Sports Host’s Comments About Tom Brady are Out of Bounds

Clay Travis' comments about Tom Brady are out of bounds. The Fox Sports radio host questioned whether or not it's fair to question Brady about PED use.

Tom Brady celebrated his 40th birthday on Thursday. The New England Patriots quarterback has accomplished a lot during his illustrious career, including winning five Super Bowls, and he is continuing to play the most important position in football at an exceptionally high level. That high level of play by Brady is what seemingly prompted Fox Sports Radio’s Clay Travis, on his show “Outkick the Coverage” Wednesday, to ask whether or not it’s fair to question if Brady’s success, especially at his age, is because he is taking performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).

Fox Sports Host’s Comments About Tom Brady are Out of Bounds

The Comments

“I think one reason we don’t question Brady — and especially because Brady’s got kind of a shady background when it comes to Deflategate and everything that’s been associated with (head coach Bill) Belichick and the Patriots over the years and their ability and willingness to push the envelope — I think one reason we don’t talk about Brady in any kind of PED use is because he’s not that physically imposing,” Travis said.

“I think physically, you look at Tom Brady, and he just looks like a regular dude,” he continued. “And he can’t run. He ran a 5.28 (40-yard dash) when he was 22. So, I don’t know what he would run now. Would he run a 6.00 40? Maybe, now that he’s 40 years old. So, I don’t really think — and then you look around the league, there’ve been a lot of guys who have played quarterback at 40 and beyond, whether it’s Vinny Testaverde, Warren Moon, guys who I think you also look at and say, ‘Man, those guys don’t look like physical specimens to me.’”

“How long is Brady going to go?” Travis asked. “When you look at him statistically, is it fair to not ask a PEDs question of Brady? Does anyone even think remotely about PEDs, or is that something that should be asked when he gets to 40 now?”

Travis Never Answered the Question

Travis spent a while simply asking the question, but he never had the guts to actually answer it. Travis didn’t really tell listeners if he thought it was fair to question Brady when it comes to PEDs and he never actually proffered an opinion regarding whether or not he believes Brady is or is not using PEDs.

Travis just continues to bring up the question, but never actually answers anything. He simply wanted to have a “hot take” without ever having to take an actual stance.

No Credit Given

The Fox Sports Radio host never gave any credit, to anyone. Not to Brady, his coach, Bill Belichick, or the rest of the Patriots organization. Belichick is one of the best coaches to ever put on a headset in the NFL, the Patriots are run incredibly well (they cut out distractions, and hardly, if ever, sign players to bad contracts, etc.) and Brady’s work ethic (strict diet, working hard on and off the field, utilizing the film room, etc.) is unquestionably incredible.

But Travis never gives credit to Brady, Belichick or the Patriots organization in any capacity.

Last Word

Thinking about how long Brady can reasonably continue to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and questioning Brady’s football mortality is fair. But dragging the future Hall of Famer’s name into the PED discussion when there is no reason to do so is not.

The answer to Clay Travis’ question is, no, it is not fair to question whether or not Brady has ever used PEDs. The Patriots quarterback has not given fans or anyone else a single reason to believe he has ever used PEDs, other than playing the game incredibly well longer than most. Comments like Clay Travis’ just prove that people want to find any reason to go after Brady.

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