Tampa mayor lightheartedly apologizes to Tom Brady in welcome letter
Mayor Jane Castor penned a fun letter to both Brady and Rob Gronkowski.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Tampa didn’t exactly give the best of welcomes to one of its newest and most famous residents when NFL superstar Tom Brady was ejected from a downtown park while working out.
Mayor Jane Castor tried to make amends by issuing a letter of apology.
“Tom, my apologies for the miscommunication when you arrived — not the best first impression,” the mayor wrote in a letter she posted on social media on Saturday. “But given my law enforcement background, I couldn’t help but have someone investigate the sighting of a G.O.A.T running wild in one of our beautiful city parks.”
Tampa Mayor @JaneCastor welcomes @TomBrady and @RobGronkowski to the Bay Area with a pretty cheeky letter 😋@WFLA pic.twitter.com/FPB3oq3AIB
— Evan Donovan (@EvanDonovan) April 25, 2020
On Monday, Brady was working out at the downtown park and, after being spotted by staff patrol, was ordered to leave because the park was closed to the public because of the coronavirus outbreak.
In her letter, the mayor thanked Brady “for being a good sport.” Additionally, the mayor thanked Brady and his wife, Gisele Bundchen, for their recent donation of 750,000 meals to Feeding Tampa Bay.
The letter was also addressed to tight end Rob Gronkowski, Brady’s friend and teammate who was recently traded to the Bucs.
The mayor suggested a number of the area’s offerings, such as Busch Gardens, the Florida Aquarium, and Zoo Tampa, and events, such as the Gasparilla Pirate Invasion and Parade.
“You must be ready to pARRGHty…but not too hard (I’m talking to you Gronk),” she wrote. “Just remember ‘No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service’ is still in effect around here.”
Tampa hosts next year’s Super Bowl and the city is looking to Brady and Gronkowski to help the Buccaneers be the first team to win an NFL championship in its own backyard.
With the coronavirus outbreak preventing large gatherings, the mayor said the welcome would have to be virtual for now, saying that a “proper Tampa welcome will have to wait for a while.”
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