A noted critic of the New England Patriots believes that Tom Brady does not belong in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, despite Brady being the most decorated athlete in the history of the sport.
Fox Sports commentator Rob Parker has long been a detractor of the Patriots franchise under Brady and head coach Bill Belichick.
When Belichick missed out on the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this year, Parker was outspoken in saying the voters made the right call in shutting the doors to Canton on the coach.
In an appearance on Stephen A. Smith’s podcast, Parker described Brady as ‘Lance Armstrong without the bicycle’ and believes that the ‘Deflategate’ and ‘Spygate’ scandals should disqualify both coach and quarterback from being enshrined.
‘Tom Brady and Bill Belichick aren’t deserving of the Hall of Fame because of the cheating scandals. I applaud the pro football writers who voted against him and the people who said they’re not going to accept the cheating part,’ Parker said on the show.
‘We know Bill Belichick is one of the all-time great coaches. But his legacy is tarnished from the cheating scandals. This isn’t just one cheating scandal, there have been like three of them, even as late as 2019 when they got caught in Cincinnati, again, videotaping the defensive signals of the Bengals.
Fox Sports’ Rob Parker believes Tom Brady and Bill Belichick shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame
Parker believes the cheating scandals from Brady and Belichick should bar them from the Hall
Parker even went so far as to call Brady ‘Lance Armstrong without the bike’
‘All I’m saying to you is, where is the punishment? Shouldn’t there be some integrity, honesty in the Hall of Fame? I think it goes hand-in-hand.’
Despite the widespread criticism toward the committee that iced Belichick out, Parker believes the voters should be praised.
‘Pete Rose is not in the Hall of Fame, Barry Bonds is not in the Hall of Fame, Roger Clemens is not in the Hall of Fame, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame, either. No way, no how,’ Parker said.
‘Tom Brady is best described as Lance Armstrong without the bicycle. They cheated. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are connected at the hip.’
Despite Parker’s moaning, Brady is expected to be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer and Belichick will surely follow him in that honor.
But Parker holds out hope that Brady gets punished in a similar manner: ‘What it tells you is that they have standards, and that’s why I applaud the writers who voted against Bill Belichick, because I think there’s an integrity factor.
‘And there’s an honor and honesty factor. … I admire them for standing up. I hope the writers don’t lose their courage and they give Tom Brady the same smoke they just gave Bill Belichick.’
