Tom Brady hangs up on radio interview after being pressed about trainer Alex Guerrero
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady abruptly ended his weekly interview on Boston sports radio station WEEI on Monday morning when the hosts brought up his trainer and friend Alex Guerrero.
It’s the second time this year Brady has hung up on WEEI interviewers.
‘I don’t want to get into it’
Via boston.com transcript, co-host Kirk Minihane broached the topic of Guerrero, and Brady wanted no part of it.
Minihane: “We saw the reports this weekend that Alex was on the team plane, which he wasn’t for the second half of last year, I guess, and not on the sideline. Is that accurate?”
Brady: “Yeah, he was with me this last week, so it was — yeah.”
Minihane: “So what changed in him not being on the team plane last year and this year? Was that just communication back and forth? Or was that an understanding of other things? What led to that being able to happen this year?”
Brady: “You know, I don’t wanna — I’m not getting into all that.”
Minihane: “OK. Yeah, when I ran into him at the Super Bowl last year in Minneapolis, I remember talking to you about the time when I talked to him there, he had said, in his opinion, that all the stuff had been overblown, that he and [coach Bill] Belichick had a pretty good relationship even then. Would you say that was true?”
Brady: “I said I don’t want to get into it.”
Minihane: “OK.”
Brady: “I mean, everybody knows it’s well-documented, you know, the work he and I do together.”
Minihane: “No, I know. I understand that. I’m just trying to figure out because I saw the reports this weekend that he’s traveling with the team. Was he on the sideline on Friday?”
Brady: “Yeah. Alright, guys, have a great day. I’ll talk to you later.”
This all happened about five minutes into the interview.
This also isn’t the first time Brady has walked away when pressed about Guerrero; during a chat with media on one of the first days of Patriots training camp, Brady seemed engaged over the first several questions, but then ended things when asked about Guerrero, who has also trained receiver Julian Edelman.
Edelman, recovering from a torn ACL, has been suspended for the first four games of the regular season after violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing drugs.
Guerrero allowed back on team plane
On Thursday, Guerrero traveled on the team plane with Brady and the rest of the Patriots to Charlotte, where New England played the Panthers on Friday night.
Though he’s been around the team for years – Brady met him through former pass-rusher Willie McGinest – Guerrero and Brady are exceptionally close, with the two partners in the TB12 Sports Therapy Center and Guerrero godfather to Brady’s son Benjamin.
However, Guerrero is a controversial figure, as he’s twice drawn the attention of the Federal Trade Commission for hawking drinks that made dubious medical claims, one that he said could prevent and cure concussions, and another he said could prevent and cure cancer, diabetes and other ailments.
Because of their relationship, Belichick had given Guerrero incredible access despite his not being a team employee: going back several seasons, he was allowed on the team plane, and on the sideline during home and away games; in addition, Guerrero had an office just outside of the team locker room where he was allowed to do massage and pliability work with Brady and other players.
But Belichick put a stop to all of that last year, after team doctors and training staff reportedly complained that Guerrero’s methods – he’s a practitioner of alternative or holistic medicine – ran counter to theirs, and his instructions to players different.
As was widely reported last Friday and affirmed by Brady, Guerrero was allowed on Air Kraft for the trip to Charlotte. He was not on the sideline.
Earlier friction with WEEI
The first time Brady hung up on WEEI this year was just before the Patriots left for Minneapolis and Super Bowl LII.
The show’s occasional third voice at the time, Alex Reimer, had called Brady’s daughter Vivian “an annoying little pissant” in his review of the premier episode of the Facebook series “Tom vs. Time” on a different program on the station.
As any father would, Brady took offense.
“I’ve tried to come on this show for many years and showed you guys a lot of respect,” Brady said. “I’ve always tried and come on and do a good job for you guys. It’s very disappointing when you hear [those comments], certainly. My daughter, or any child, certainly doesn’t deserve that.
“I really don’t have much to say this morning. Maybe I’ll speak with you guys some other time.”
As Monday morning’s hangup shows, Brady had returned to his paid appearances.
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