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When Tom Brady's retirement news broke last weekend, ESPN insiders Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington received a lot of flak on social media. While it was shocking news for the NFL world, Brady was still in the process of calling it quits. In short, he wasn't planning on retiring before the Super Bowl. Both Schefter and Darlington were trolled by fans as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers denied reports of their star quarterback's imminent retirement.
Two days later, Brady made it official. The seven-time Super Bowl champion has retired from the NFL after 22 seasons. He announced his retirement via an emotional statement on his Instagram account. NFL fans and analysts didn't see that coming at all. Just days before the report, Brady was in action against the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round as he fell short of yet another incredible comeback.
NFL fans defend Schefter and Darlington for accurate Brady report
Brady addressed the retirement talks on his latest Let's Go! podcast, stating that he was upset with the premature reportage. Even his father, Tom Brady Sr., had denied reports of his son retiring from the sport. The 44-year-old cleared the air on NFL retirement on Monday's podcast with co-host Jim Gray. He said:
“I’m still going through the process. When the time is right, I’ll be ready to make a decision."
The legendary quarterback explained:
"I think for me, it’s day to day for me, trying to do the best I can every day, and evaluating things as they come to try to make a great decision for me and my family.”
Brady's comments further raised questions about Schefter and Darlington's report. Schefter was even forced to address Brady's retirement report during an NCAA game. As it turns out, the NFL insiders were pretty accurate with their report, with the all-time great officially announcing his retirement. Brady, as other reporters suggest, may have had an issue with the timing of the report.
Twitter was quick to react and acknowledge Schefter after the official announcement.
Some users felt fans owed Schfter and Darlington an apology:
That is brutal!
He makes a fair point:
Here's what Schefter did, according to one fan after the announcement:
Someone had to share this segment:
