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Tom Brady had a passionate response to some recent hot-button comments from Scottie Scheffler.
Few if any have been better at their respective crafts in the last couple of decades than Scottie Scheffler in golf and Tom Brady in football. We’re starting to learn, though, that they each got there with very different mindsets.
Scheffler was the talk of the sports world recently ahead of The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. The No. 1 golfer in the world made plenty of headlines before even teeing it up for Round 1 when he went deep and got introspective in a pre-tournament press conference.
“This is not the be all, end all. This is not the most important thing in my life,” Scheffler told reporters in Northern Ireland. “That’s why I wrestle with, why is this so important to me? Because I’d much rather be a great father than I would be a great golfer. At the end of the day, that’s what’s more important to me.”
Just about everyone in the sports world has taken the chance to react to Scheffler’s point of view, and the opinions are mixed. Some believe it’s an admirable perspective. Some wondered whether that sort of grounded approach to life, prioritizing seemingly the right things, made Scheffler even better. It’s hard to argue with that one. Scheffler went onto to win The Open Championship in historic fashion.
Then there was a group, a smaller one perhaps, that challenged Scheffler’s point of view. Skip Bayless, for example, believes Scheffler should focus on an apparent calling from God to focus on golf (at least for now) and not his wife and son.
Tom Brady Doesn’t Totally Agree With Scottie Scheffler’s Viewpoint
Which is where Brady comes in. While he didn’t go full Bayless (you never want to go full Bayless), he did seem to push back on Scheffler’s point of view.
“Scottie said he’d rather be a better father and husband than a good golfer. And my question is: why are those mutually exclusive?” Brady wrote in his weekly newsletter. “Sure, they’re different blocks on the pyramid, but they’re part of the same pyramid. They’re connected!”
Brady insisted that his infatuation with football — and doing it the best he could — was an example for his children to follow.
“My dedication to the sport, the hours of practice, the moments when I was laser-focused — those were times when I believe I was doing the best possible thing for my family and my kids, by prioritizing my profession and teaching, by example, what it takes to be really good at your job, what it takes to follow through on commitments, what it takes to be a great teammate; and showing them, also by example, that work is a big part of all our lives.
” … Reading bedtime stories and helping them with homework are not the only ways to be a great parent. And neither is winning Super Bowls or MVPs. Being a great football player didn’t make me a great dad but how I became a great player certainly had an impact — from showing up day in and day out, to doing whatever it took to get better, be successful, be a role model and to provide.”
That’s sure something.
Brady, Scheffler Don’t Have Much In Common
It can’t be overstated enough that there’s not just one path to follow in the hunt for greatness at one’s craft, even when it comes to professional sports. Similarly, there’s not just one path to follow to be the best parent you can be.
But it’s not entirely surprising that Brady and Scheffler see this so different. Scheffler is not the type of professional athlete who is going to show up on the cover of a fashion magazine holding a goat anytime soon. Nor is he going to put out a cookbook. If you need him, you might be able to find him at Chipotle. He and Brady are not motivated by the same things — on and off the field.
It’s also probably not entirely fair to point out that Brady went through a painful divorce from his now-ex-wife Gisele Bundchen. As that was unfolding, there was plenty of reporting that she grew tired of Brady’s insistence on playing professional football well into his 40s. In fairness to Brady, Scheffler didn’t marry one of the world’s most famous women, which might complicate the matter a little bit, too.
Brady has also kept busy in retirement. He’s NFL on FOX’s No. 1 color analyst and has seemingly endless business deals. Just a hunch, but Scheffler probably won’t be following in those footsteps when he calls it a career.
Mike Cole Mike Cole covers professional golf for Heavy.com. He previously worked at NESN where he covered Boston sports (and much more) for 15 years. More about Mike Cole
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