Tom Brady has a new supporter in nemesis Antonio Cromartie
The times they are a changin’.
Add New York Jets defensive back Antonio Cromartie to the list of NFL players who are supporting Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in his battle with Roger Goodell.
Cromartie — who has bashed Brady early and often — went on ESPN’s “First Take’’ on Thursday and said a $25,000 fine would be just fine in lieu of a suspension for Brady, all while ripping Roger Goodell.
“In the rulebook, there’s no suspension in the rules,’’ Cromartie said. “There’s only a $25,000 fine, so I don’t see how you can try to lay the hammer down on someone when the rule states for itself there’s no suspension for it. Are we trying to go back to the Spygate and get more from that? Or are we just leading back to us, saying ‘Well, I have full control of everything. I made the rules as it goes, rather than follow the rules of what’s already been written.’’’
Cromartie admits that Goodell is acting in accordance to the guidelines written into the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiated between the league and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA).
“Honestly, I don’t think he should be suspended,’’ Cromartie said. “Nobody is safe no matter who you are. Roger [Goodell] is going to do what he wants to do. It don’t matter what the rules say, he’s gonna make his own rules as he goes, and it shouldn’t be like that. But at the end of the day, we as players gave him the freedom to do whatever he wants to do. We signed the sheet. So we had our own fault for doing it. We should have been more detailed. We shouldn’t have rushed into things. We should have pushed it to another month and a half and made the owners lose money, and then you go from there.’’
Brady has beaten the Jets like a rented mule through the years, going 20-6 against the Jets over his career while the outspoken Cromartie has faced Brady 12 times during the regular season as a member of the Chargers and Jets, with his teams putting up a 3-9 record against the Brady-led Patriots.
Cromartie joins Terrell Suggs and Bernard Pollard as former foes who have come out in support of Brady since the Deflategate accusations became public after the AFC Championship game in January.
But of all the players who have rushed to Brady’s defense, none had been more critical of the Patriots superstar quarterback in the past.
In January 2011, Cromartie threw shade at Brady, criticizing the four-time Super Bowl champions “antics’’ of allegedly pointing at opponents after scoring a touchdown, a charge Brady denied.
“We see that a lot. He does it a lot,’’ Cromartie told the New York Daily News. “That’s the kind of guy he is. We really don’t give a damn, to tell you the truth… He’s doing the pointing at our defensive line and stuff like that.’’
When asked to give his assessment of what kind of guy Brady is, Cromartie replied, “An a**hole. F**k him.’’
Cromartie didn’t back down when pressed to expand on his comments the next day. “Why should I regret it? That’s how I feel,’’ Cromartie said. “As long as I’m in the NFL and he’s in the NFL, there’s going to be a hatred.’’
So apparently haters gonna hate… until Roger Goodell gets involved in the fight.
Notable Patriots newcomers:
[bdc-gallery id=”109813″]
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com