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Stephen A. Smith frequently says things that seem strange. But his opinion on what Tom Brady is doing to save his marriage may just take the cake when it comes to his odd comments.
On Tuesday's episode of First Take, which took place hours before news broke that Brady and Gisele Bundchen were living separately, Smith claimed that Brady was trying to save his marriage by... winning a Super Bowl?
Here is the ESPN host's explanation for claiming Tom Brady's desire to play football has something to do with saving his marriage to Gisele:
"Because if something happens to him, who's going to be taking care of them. So because of that, that's [playing in the NFL] very, very important. And all I'm saying is, if you're the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. How much more motivated could he be?
"Because. Why you doing all of this? Oh, you might be hungry and motivated and all this other stuff, but especially now...[why you are doing this]? When there's reports about [why] she left but came back, but still on ice, that all of this other stuff. I guess what makes all of that salvageable? [It's a Super Bowl win]. This is why I did it."
Tom Brady is between a rock and a hard place
Tom Brady is committed to a 23rd season in the NFL, so he isn't likely to leave the Buccaneers high and dry midseason to retire. Gisele Bundchen has been respectful of his pursuits, but she is also clearly fed up with the grind of a pro football career.
Because of that, Brady is between a rock and a hard place. He will have to finish what he started, but as he explained to Jim Gray on the Let's Go! podcast, life is growing too difficult to manage:
"And I think when you're 45, and you have a lot of other commitments and obligations which are very important to you - namely children that are growing up and things that, I haven't had a Christmas in 23 years and I haven't had a Thanksgiving in 23 years, I haven't celebrated birthdays with people that I care about that are born from August to late January. And I'm not able to be at funerals and I'm not able to be at weddings."
Tom Brady seems to be playing this season for his team, his family, and for his legacy. His marriage probably has nothing to do with this, and talking heads might have to keep the two things separate.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit ESPN First Take, Let's Go and H/T Sportskeeda.
