Opinion: Tom Brady has gotten an undeserved pass for his past support of Donald Trump [View all]

Tom Brady was happy to talk politics until he wasn’t.

The Make America Great Again hat in his locker, the flippant endorsement of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Only when those ties became inconvenient did Brady decide he wanted to “stick to sports,” and that he preferred to be a beacon of positivity rather than delve into society’s thorny ills.

How mighty white of him.

Brady’s ability to enter and exit the debate at his choosing, to shield himself from accountability, is the height of white privilege. As this country grapples with the far reaches of systemic racism, look no further than Brady, for whom the expectations, and allowances granted, will always be different.

“Whiteness is the benefit of the doubt,” said David Leonard, author of "Playing While White: Privilege and Power on and off the Field." “When Tom Brady says, 'I was just given the hat,’ or 'He’s just a friend of mine,’ or when he skips the White House and says, 'I had a different engagement,’ he gets the benefit of the doubt. He gets to be an individual.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/nancy-armour/2021/02/02/super-bowl-2021-tom-brady-doesnt-deserve-pass-trump-support/4358829001/?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4