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Sportscaster rips Tom Brady for skipping Obama meeting

by Mark Hensch - 04/25/15 6:02 PM ET

ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith criticized New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for skipping a White House ceremony for his team earlier this week.

Smith blasted Brady’s decision Friday during a broadcast of his radio program, “The Stephen A. Smith Show.” President Obama hosted the Patriots on Thursday afternoon in honor of their Super Bowl victory last February.

“Where the hell was Tom Brady?” Smith asked.

{mosads}“I mean, is he a Republican and don’t want anybody to know?”

Team officials Thursday claimed Brady’s absence stemmed from a family commitment. Smith questioned that logic Friday, wondering why the star athlete had appeared during three similar events hosted by former President George W. Bush.

“When you won back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 2003 and 2004 with George W. Bush still president, you were there,” Smith accused Brady.

“Why is it that you got to show up for George W. Bush – not one, two but three times – but you got a family commitment,” he added. “Not an emergency, a commitment.”

Brady won three previous Super Bowls in 2002, 2004 and 2005. Actor Mark Wahlberg, a Boston native, rushed to the quarterback’s defense Thursday.

“Family first,” the “Lone Survivor” star said. “He must have had something really important to do. He’ll be there next year.”

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest may have inspired Brady’s snub with comments he made earlier this year. He mocked a January press conference where the quarterback seemed to stumble over his answers.

“The one thing I can tell you is that for years, it’s been clear that there is no risk that I was going to take Tom Brady’s job as quarterback of the New England Patriots,” he said. “But I can tell you that as of today, it’s pretty clear there’s no risk of him taking my job either,” Earnest joked.

The Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 on Feb. 1 for their fourth Super Bowl championship.

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