Don’t. Even. Joke.
New England Patriots fans who forgot that Monday is April Fools’ Day might have been panicking when quarterback Tom Brady tweeted that he had decided to retire.
The six-time Super Bowl champion has joined Twitter and his first post said simply: “I’m retiring. In my spare time, I’ll be tweeting.” An email from a Twitter spokeswoman confirmed the account, but it also referred to the fact that the tweet came on April Fools’ Day.
I’m retiring. In my spare time, I’ll be tweeting #LFG
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) April 1, 2019
His apparent joke got tens of thousands of retweets and “likes” in an hour.
About an hour later, Brady sent out a second tweet that said, “Was this a bad joke?”
Was this a bad joke?
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) April 1, 2019
Brady is a 41-year-old, three-time NFL MVP who has to stop playing some time. But after leading New England to the title last year, there’s no indication that he’s slowing down.
Before the Super Bowl, in January, Brady said there is “zero” chance he will hang up his cleats after the game, the NFL Network reported.
“As long as I’m still loving it. As long as I’m loving the training and preparation and willing to make the commitment,” Brady also told Oprah, according to the report.
He added: “But it’s also [that] I think what I’ve alluded to a lot in the [‘Tom vs. Time’] docuseries was there’s other things happening in my life too. I do have [three] kids that I love, and I don’t want to be a dad that’s not there driving my kids to their games. I think my kids have brought a great perspective in my life, because kids just want the attention. You better be there and be available to them, or else they’re going to look back on their life and go, ‘Dad didn’t really care that much.'”
Our quarterback is 41 and pursuing a career on @Twitter.
He loves football, family and Super Bowl rings, and he’s just waiting for a chance to blow up.
So @Twitter, meet @TomBrady. pic.twitter.com/tBi0HiXQ0V
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) April 1, 2019
And anyway, is this how he would announce it?
Even tight end Rob Gronkowski, who actually retired last month, did so with a lengthy Instagram post.
Neither Brady’s agent nor the Patriots immediately responded to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Boy ‘Proves’ Brady’s a Cheater?
A 10-year-old boy won a science fair in Lexington, Kentucky, after “proving” that Brady, coach Bill Belichick, and the Patriots are cheaters.
The boy, Ace Davis, wanted to prove whether Brady was a cheater by using science, using examples of how a deflated football gave the future Hall of Fame quarterback an advantage.
Hater level: 100.***UPDATE: He won "honorable mention" at the science fair and is moving on to district….
During experiments he conducted with his mother and sister, Ace discovered that the least inflated football went the farthest, which could give Brady an advantage when passing.
He also included meme-like photos of Brady, 41, crying or making unusual faces.
During the AFC Championship game in 2015 in which the Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts, Brady was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 NFL season.
10-year-old wins science fair by presenting proof that Tom Brady is a cheater: “He’s been accused of cheating before, I want him to be caught.” ???? #EverythingWeGot
➡ https://t.co/NqemL0Wbdy pic.twitter.com/00uoQ9LYD5
— Yahoo Sports NFL (@YahooSportsNFL) January 24, 2019
“The Patriots were found guilty of doctoring football [sic], thus losing $1,000,000 and future draft picks. Tom Brady is indeed a cheater,” Davis concluded in the project.
The reason why he made the project is simple, he said.
“Because I hate Tom Brady, he’s been accused of cheating before, I want him to be caught,” he told NFL Draft Diamonds.
He added: “It’s funny and people are tired of watching him in the Super Bowl. And Julian Edelman takes steroids.”
The Epoch Times reporter Jack Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
