A bombshell ESPN publication released Friday morning revealed the rift that has developed inside the seemingly stable New England Patriots organization between owner Robert kraft, head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.
The Seth Wickersham piece brought to light the power struggle of Kraft, Brady and Tom’s heath coach against Belichick and his reported hankering to start backup Jimmy Garoppolo over Brady.
Brady allegedly went to Kraft to push for the organization to trade Garoppolo, perhaps seemingly sensing the pressure of the backup behind him, pushing against Brady’s plan to play for multiple more years.
Garoppolo suffered a shoulder injury after going down during a game he was playing in place of Brady, who was suspended for the infamous “Deflategate” saga. Garoppolo sought out medical advice from Tom Brady’s personal training facility, dubbed the ‘TB12 Sports Therapy Center’, ran by Brady’s personal heath coach and business partner, Alex Guerrero. According to Wickersham, after Garoppolo set up an appointment with Guerreo, Brady denied access to Jimmy from the building, even going as far as to locking the doors.
“He knocked; nobody was there,” Wickersham wrote. “He called TB12 trainers but nobody answered. He couldn’t believe it, Garoppolo told the staffers, and that night ended up visiting team trainers instead.”
Garoppolo did eventually receive treatment from the facility weeks later after a high ranking Patriots staffer called to inquire why he was being locked out, but as to why he was seemingly denied access in the first place was never explained.
Wickersham also mentioned that numerous other Patriots players were torn on whether to train at the team facility or at Brady’s facility, with Brady reportedly getting upset at those choosing to workout elsewhere and coaches getting aggravated with players working out at the TB12 Center.
