Athleticism is a funny thing to measure. When most sports fans hear the word, they likely think of pure speed and leaping ability.

Merriam-Webster defines it this way: Athletic ability. The combination of qualities (such as speed, strength, and agility) that are characteristics of an athlete.

Sounds simple enough. But interpretation is everything. Tom Brady has lived a charmed existence for more than two decades as a quarterback universally hailed as the greatest of all time, yet he is often mocked as hopelessly unathletic — a label earned with his brutal pre-draft combine time in the 40-yard dash (if you can call 5.28 seconds a “dash”) and, of course, with the shirtless photo of his less-than-chiseled physique.

For the sake of argument, a question about Brady begs to be asked: How can someone who was drafted by a major league baseball team (the Montreal Expos) out of high school and by an NFL team out of college (you know who) be considered a lousy athlete?