Tom Brady admitted last week that officials have let him get away with taunting and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, but the star quarterback does not think he deserved the first one that was ever called against him.
Brady was hit with a 15-yard penalty during Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams. The flag as thrown after he screamed in referee Shawn Hochuli’s face over what Brady believed was a missed roughing the passer call. Hochuli said after the game that Brady “got in my face in an aggressive manner and used abusive language.”
Brady discussed the foul during the latest episode of his “Let’s Go!” podcast this week. He said he was shocked the flag was thrown since he didn’t curse.
“If I feel like they miss a call, I want to let the guy know,” Brady said, as transcribed by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “And I’ve done that literally a thousand times over the course of my career and never got called. In this instance, before I could realize it, the flag was thrown. And I was looking at the guy like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I didn’t cuss, I didn’t do any of those things…”
Brady believed Von Miller should have been flagged for roughing the passer. The hit, which you can see here, left Brady with a bloody lip.
Of course, many felt the timing of the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty made perfect sense. Several days earlier, Brady admitted that he receives preferential treatment when it comes to complaining to officials and talking trash to opponents. There was no way he was going to get away with screaming in a ref’s face after he said that.
More must-reads: