Tom Brady gets a lot of attention. Outside New England, folks might think he gets too much. But closer to home a Rhode Island Professor’s claims his popularity is not based on skill or success. It’s his whiteness.
Titled “Making American White Men Great Again: Tom Brady, Donald Trump, and the Allure of White Male Omnipotence in Post-Obama America,” the chapter attempts to provide evidence to back up Kusz’s suggestion that, like President Donald Trump, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has gained popularity due to the “latest wave of white rage and white supremacy” that he says developed since the Obama presidency alongside a “disturbing racial reaction among white conservatives in response to the idea that a black man would be [president].”
I’ll break the bubble for you right now. Professor Kyle Kusz has Trump Derangement Syndrome (for a living). Add to that the white tower company he keeps and his dabbling in race theory (not Formula One nor NASCAR) and you’ve got a guy who gets paid to have too much time on his hands.
“After moving here for work I became fascinated by the idolatry given to Brady, especially after Trump began to name-drop and use white sportsmen as surrogates during his 2016 campaign,” the professor said, noting that he takes an interest in the stories being told about race and gender in today’s society and how they “reflect broader struggles about social power.”
Sure. That’s gotta be it. It can’t possibly be the Superbowl comeback against the Falcons, six championships, all those MVPs and Pro bowl appearances. People like him ‘cuz he’s a rich athletic straight white guy with a supermodel wife.
I’m sure some people like him for that. There are probably a few folks who envy him as well. I bet there are kids of all colors who’d like to be the next Tom Brady. But, sorry, I’m not buying the rest of it.
Brady was very successful and popular before anyone even knew the name, Barack Obama.
