Tom Brady made an appearance on Pro Football Talk Live with Mike Florio. Brady was asked about teammates skipping the team’s White House visit. To his credit, Brady said “it’s their choice.” But he elaborated further:
It really is a great experience. Putting politics aside, it never really was a political thing for me. It was always something that was a privilege to do because it means you won a championship and get to experience something cool with your teammates.
Everyone remembers Brady skipping the White House visit during President Obama’s tenure due to family obligations. A point he reiterated on Tuesday. The star qb continued:
Everyone has their own choice. It’s the offseason. These days are valuable to everybody. You only get so much time with your family and friends. If people don’t want to go, they don’t want to go and that’s their choice.
That’s sort of like one of those non apology apologies. If it is truly their choice and you don’t want to get political, don’t couch your response or add a qualifier. Whether Brady wants to admit it or not, the visit is most certainly political.