Whitlock: Tom Brady bought the lie that he could have it all



The biggest lie destroying America is the belief that we can have it all. That we’re entitled to everything we feel.

The belief undergirds the transgender movement, same-sex marriage, drag queen story hour, feminism, the matriarchy, critical race theory, reparations, and diversity, inclusion, and equity.

And the collapse of Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Bucs lost their third game in a row Sunday afternoon, losing 21-3 to the tanking Carolina Panthers. The Bucs have lost four of their last five games. Seven games into the season, Brady and the Bucs sit at 3-4. No one will mistake them for a Super Bowl contender.

Maybe new Tampa head coach Todd Bowles deserves some of the blame. But I don’t see it. The fall of the Bucs is on their seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

Tom Brady thought he could have it all. An endless football career, supermodel wife, kids, and more fun and autonomy on the football field than Bill Belichick allows.

He had all that for one year. Two years ago, he won a Super Bowl title in Tampa. He proved, for a moment, that he was bigger and more important than Belichick’s highly structured New England system.

That’s the thing about a good lie. It mimics the truth before revealing its ugly consequences.

You can’t have it all. Adam and Eve learned this in the garden. A properly functioning human, family, society, and football team all require limits. Brady has greatly exceeded his limits. He can still play the game at a relatively high level. His fall isn’t on Father Time.

It’s a result of his unchecked desire to have it all. The desire to have it all causes man to reject his most important covenants. Adam and Eve disobeyed God because they wanted it all.

Brady sacrificed his marriage covenant to continue on as a football player while simultaneously sacrificing his football covenant to spend more time with his wife and kids.

Brady became the most accomplished football player of all time because of his willingness to submit to Belichick’s no-one-is-above-the-team culture. He left New England so he could be above the team.

In Tampa, Brady gets Wednesdays off from work. He missed 11 days of training camp to handle personal matters. The most all-in NFL player of all time is now a part-time player. He works on Sundays.

Brady’s mentality and approach have spoiled Tampa’s culture. The 52 other players on the roster are following their on-field leader. Brady ate the forbidden fruit of entitlement and privilege. Now everyone on Tampa’s roster wants a bite.

There’s a lesson here for all of us.

Tom Brady is America, the most accomplished country in the history of the planet. America is dying from a culture of entitlement and the belief that everything is for everybody. Whatever we feel, we believe we should have.

Fat people believe they should wear thongs and speedos on the beach. If you object, you’re demonized as a fat-shamer. I’m fat. I should not wear a speedo on a beach or even in the comfort of my living room.

Same-sex-attracted men and women believe they should be married. The concept of marriage is derived from the Bible. The Bible spells out that marriage is a sacred covenant to be shared between a man and a woman. Not everything is for everybody.

Bruce Jenner believes he’s a woman. He underwent several surgeries and changed his name to create the false reality that he’s a woman. He dates women. He wants it all.

It’s all a slippery slope straight to hell and chaos. That’s why many elementary school teachers spend more time talking about their sex lives and genders with kids rather than reading, writing, and arithmetic.

The unchecked desire to have whatever the mind conceives leads to anarchy. There’s no magic pill to prevent the consequences of gluttony and disobedience. You can only delay the suffering.

America suffers today because for at least the last 60 years, we’ve rejected commonsense and biblically backed limitations on acquiescing to what we feel.

The political left feels that economic and educational outcomes should be better for American black people. Leftists have adopted critical race theory and diversity, inclusion, and equity as intellectual tent poles to generate the outcomes they deem just.

The Bible prescribes a different solution. It teaches that commitment to family is at the root of all sustainable success. Too many black men and women have bought the feminist lie that marriage is a luxury item at best and more likely an anchor on happiness and fulfillment.

It’s not a coincidence that Tom Brady’s career and family are collapsing at the same time. He violated sacred covenants in pursuit of a football legacy that could go no higher.

Men need to quit lying to themselves and adopting the mindset of feminist women. Real men accept the proper limitations on their desires and live accordingly.

It’s OK if you previously failed to live as a real man. I made that mistake. I pursued everything I desired to excess. It’s not too late to change. The Bucs hope Tom Brady does.

Whitlock: Fame and entitlement are destroying Tom Brady



Cameras captured Tom Brady yelling at his offensive linemen during the second quarter of Tampa Bay’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In the last month, the seven-time Super Bowl champion has lost three of his last four games and his supermodel wife, Gisele Bundchen. It’s a frustrating time for the most accomplished football player in NFL history. The Bucs don’t look like Super Bowl contenders, and Brady and his wife have hired divorce lawyers.

It’s no surprise Brady is lashing out. It’s also no surprise that the 45-year-old quarterback is suffering a midlife identity crisis.

You can argue that Father Time finally caught Tom Brady. I’d argue fame is causing the demise of Brady. Fame is undefeated at eroding self-awareness, promoting selfishness, and encouraging entitlement.

Selfishness, entitlement, and a lack of self-awareness are at the root of Brady’s 2022 on- and off-field failures.

Friday, Brady hopped on a private plane to attend Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s surprise wedding. Sometime Saturday, Brady jetted to Pittsburgh to meet his teammates for their game with the Steelers. Brady skipped the Saturday walk-through practice. He didn’t need it. He’s Super Tom Brady.

Brady no longer requires practice. He’s reportedly excused from Wednesday practices, too. Brady wants to play football. He’s not that interested in preparing to play football. His mindset mirrors that of most professional athletes.

NFL play is sloppy and uneven. It’s no surprise. The league has basically outlawed contact practice over safety concerns. Everyone is getting rich regardless of the quality of play. No one cares, including most of the fans.

The NFL and its network partners cater to casual fans, the people who watch the Red Zone channel for fantasy football updates and scoreboards to track their gambling picks.

For two decades, Brady excelled on the football field because he had the courage and self-awareness to stand out from his peers. He bought into and cultivated the Patriot Way, the selfless and team-oriented style of football Bill Belichick evangelizes.

Brady epitomized old-school values.

That Tom Brady died when he moved to Tampa Bay.

Tampa Tom desires the spoils of celebrity. Privilege. He practices when it’s convenient. He briefly retired because he no longer wanted to play for Bruce Arians. He sacrificed his marriage in pursuit of enhancing a football legacy that can’t go any higher.

Brady made a fool of himself Sunday berating his teammates. He can’t yell and scream at his teammates when they can so clearly see that he’s not fully invested in their success. Brady’s mindset and approach separated him from his competitors. The culture he helped Belichick create in New England contributed to his on-field greatness more than his physical gifts.

Brady’s behavior now undermines Tampa’s culture. Todd Bowles, Tampa’s coach, recognizes the problem.

“We didn’t take (Pittsburgh) lightly,” Bowles said after the 20-18 loss. “I think guys that are living off the Super Bowl are living in a fantasy land. You gotta get your hands dirty and go to work like everybody else. We’ve been working hard and we’ve gotta work harder. Nobody’s gonna give us anything. Nobody’s gonna feel sorry. We’ve gotta go back as coaches, as players – the time for talking is over. You either gotta put up or shut up.”

Of course the Buccaneers took Pittsburgh lightly. Injuries decimated Pittsburgh’s lineup. The Steelers’ two best players – T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick – didn’t play. Pittsburgh entered Sunday’s game on a four-game losing streak. At kickoff, the Buccaneers were favored by 10 points.

Forty-eight hours before the game, Tom Brady chose to attend a wedding in New York. That’s a signal to every player on the Bucs' roster that the greatest player of all time didn’t take Pittsburgh all that seriously. Brady’s actions are far more powerful and influential than Todd Bowles’ words.

A spirit of entitlement controls Tom Brady’s behavior at the moment. Fame does that. Constant adulation does that.

It’s great that Brady won a Super Bowl in Tampa. But the reality is that Brady misses Bill Belichick.

Brady should have retired three years ago and focused on his family. He’s not the same person without Belichick.

NFL coach shuts down race-obsessed reporters: 'We coach ball. We don't look at color'



Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles rejected racially-framed questions during a press conference on Wednesday, noting that he and fellow coaches focus on football, not skin color.

A questioner noted that Bowles and Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin are among the NFL's only black head coaches, and that Steve Wilks is also joining that group — Wilks has been named interim head coach of the Carolina Panthers.

The Buccaneers are slated to play the Steelers on Sunday and the Panthers later this month.

Bowles said that he has a "very good relationship with Tomlin." He continued by noting, "We don't look at what color we are when" going against one another. "We just know each other." Bowles said that he has many "very good white friends that coach in this league as well."

After briefly mentioning Wilks, Bowles concluded by saying, "we coach ball. We don't look at color."

Another person followed up with another race-focused question, asking Bowles, "You also understand that representation matters too right?" The person suggested that when people "see you guys," they see a person who "looks like them" and "grew up like them."

Bowles shut that line of thought down cold. He said that the phrases "'see you guys' and 'look like them' and 'grow up like them'" indicate "that we're oddballs to begin with." He added, "I think the minute you guys start, stop stop makin' a big deal about it everybody else will as well."

The many Americans weary of a race-obsessed culture will likely find the coach's comments refreshing.

Todd Bowles on Preparing to Face QB Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers | Press Conference youtu.be