Tom Brady received a public smackdown Monday for working out in a Tampa park in violation of coronavirus rules, but a Yankees minor league team is welcoming the 42-year-old quarterback with open arms.
On Tuesday, the Tampa Tarpons, the Yankees’ Single-A affiliate, tweeted out a message of support for the six-time Super Bowl champion, who is moving his family into Derek Jeter’s 30,000-square-foot compound on Davis Islands in Tampa.
“Hey @TomBrady……We know of a #TampaPark you can workout at,” the team tweeted with a picture of George M. Steinbrenner Field — home of the Tampa Tarpons and the Yankees’ spring training ballpark. The ballpark is across the street from Raymond James Stadium, Brady’s new home field.
On Monday, Tampa Bay mayor Jane Castor confirmed that Brady, who recently signed a two-year, fully guaranteed $50 million deal with the Buccaneers in March, was told to leave the park while talking about the incident on a Facebook Live session with St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman.
He was not cited or given a fine, according to TMZ.
“You know our parks are closed down and so a lot of our parks staff, they patrol around just to make sure people aren’t doing contact sports and things and saw an individual working out in one of our downtown parks,” said Castor, who didn’t indicate exactly when it happened. “And she went over to tell him that it was closed and it was Tom Brady.”
The city on Monday also posted a social media message on the incident to reinforce the message of complying with stay-at-home orders.
“Sorry Tom Brady Our @tampaparksrec team can’t wait to welcome you and our entire community back with even bigger smiles — until then, stay safe and stay home as much as you can to help flatten the curve,” the Tampa Parks & Recreation account posted to Twitter on Monday.
The 42-year-old Brady received some good news on Tuesday, however.
He will be reunited with tight end Rob Gronkowski, 30, who was traded from the Patriots to the Buccaneers, along with a seventh-round pick in this week’s draft, according to ESPN. New England received Tampa Bay’s fourth-round pick in the deal.
