Buccaneers' Tom Brady blasts NFLPA over tripping fine

"I’m a little disappointed though," Brady said about the situation during the latest edition of his "Let's Go!" SiriusXM show and podcast, as shared by Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post. "I tried to tackle him with my right shoulder and missed him. And I wasn’t going to try to stick my arm out, so I was trying to get him on the ground. I tried to get him on the ground and I missed him. Completely! I didn’t even hit him. I tried to trip him, but I didn’t. So I don’t know how you can get fined for something that didn’t even happen. Are they fining an intention? It’s like targeting and you missed the person you hit and they still call it targeting." 

Brady, who is appealing the punishment, then took a shot at the union. 

"I gotta figure out and understand why this is the case," he continued. "This is why I wish our NFLPA was stronger." 

Brady became somewhat more outspoken after signing with the Buccaneers in March 2020. The seven-time Super Bowl champion has since lashed out at certain rule changes and at the league's decision to expand the regular season, and he even roasted the quality of NFL games this past fall. 

As Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio pointed out, it's curious that Brady criticized the NFLPA before learning the outcome of his appeal. Florio also noted that Brady openly admitted to trying to trip Hooker and has a history of aggressively kicking or going "cleats up" toward opposing players. TB12 was fined in October for seemingly attempting to kick Grady Jarrett of the Atlanta Falcons during a game. 

A veteran such as Brady understands the union has to protect all players involved in such plays, including Hooker. As mentioned by the Joe Bucs Fan website, the 45-year-old confessed to going for a cheap shot during a game and, thus, has little argument regarding what is a slap on the wrist considering the money he's made from NFL contracts alone over the past two decades.