Brady won’t share ‘personal’ feelings on Brown

8:19 AM ET

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady turned philosophical when discussing wide receiver Antonio Brown being released after just 11 days with the team.

“I do have a lot of personal feelings, none of which I really care to share,” Brady said in his weekly interview on “The Greg Hill Show” on sports radio WEEI. “It’s a difficult situation. That’s kind of how I feel.”

Brady, who spent one-on-one time with Brown on and off the field in hopes of easing his transition to the team, shared in general terms how he approaches his role as a leader on the Patriots.

“There’s a lot of human elements. As a player, as a person, I care deeply about my teammates. I want everyone to be the best they can possibly be,” he said on the program. “From the day I started with this team, even back in college, you try to provide leadership, and you try to care for people. You try to provide whatever you think you can to help them reach their highest potential — whatever situation it is.

“I’ve had a lot of teammates over the years, so you invest — not just your head, but your heart. You invest your soul. That’s what makes a great team. That’s what makes a great brotherhood. So I think in the end, the endearing trait about sports for me is the relationships I get to build, because they’re very meaningful. That’s at the heart, I think, philosophically, [of] my life. It’s really about great relationships and seeing guys from all different backgrounds. I think it brings all of us together in so many ways.”

Brady said that as long as he’s playing and part of a team and community, he will “keep believing in people, in joy, in love” because “that’s what works for me.”

“Everyone needs something a little bit different. Everybody’s upbringing was a little bit different. Everybody’s emotional states are different,” he said on the program. “How do you contribute — whether someone is hurting physically, mentally, emotionally — how do you provide to them what they may need in order to support them to help us all grow and evolve. Not only as individuals. Not only as members of the team. Not only as members of the family. Not only as members of a community. But everybody has different challenges. I think you recognize those challenges, try to provide them as best as possible, and go to bed at night trying to do the best you can do. If things don’t work as you hoped, then absolutely when you put your heart on the line, there’s emotions that come up. A lot of things are not always in our control. But you wake up the next day and try to find hope and optimism.”

The 42-year-old Brady noted how he had the privilege of a “great upbringing” that not everyone is fortunate to have.

“People that know me, I think, know how optimistic I am and just my belief that positivity and optimism can overcome a lot of things. There’s a lot of things that get in the way of that, and again, I think we’re in a culture where we want to cast judgment so quickly on people. We want to disparage people so quickly. And it just speaks to me that a lot of people are probably hurting, because when you’re not feeling great, you want other people to know that. I think it becomes very emotional,” he said.

“Again, it’s a tough life. Life is not easy. Football is not easy. Evolving and growing as people is not an easy thing. I’m very different now — at 22 than I am at 42. So I have a lot more perspective. Life is challenging for all of us … we all go through different aspects of our life and we try to do the best we can do. We develop friendships and relationships, people that support us, and sports has a great way of bringing a lot of people together. I believe the more you care for people, the more you love people, the more you find joy in your life, the better our society is. The better our communities are. The better our teams are. The better our families are. That’s how I feel.”

Brady lamented today’s negative culture.

“It’s so easy for us to blame and shame because everyone has a voice now,” he said. “A lot of them can just be nameless, faceless comments that are very difficult for people. You love too much, that’s a problem. You hate too much, that’s a problem. You win too much, that’s a problem. You lose too much, that’s a problem. Everything ends up being a problem.

“So you just have to focus on, look at yourself, and ‘What do I believe in? What are my beliefs?’ I’m responsible for my own beliefs. I’m responsible for my own actions. And I’m going to do the best I can do to contribute in the best way possible. I’m not going to add on. I’m not going to be a part of this culture that can become very negative, can become very blaming, very much point fingers. I think as a parent, what responsibility do we have to teach our children? What society do we want this to become? How do we choose in the role we have to make a difference, to contribute in a positive way? And if we don’t, that’s our choice. For me, based on my upbringing, my choice is something that’s different than that.”