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Patriots' Brady addresses health after wife's concussion claim

[July 04, 2017] The Sports Xchange

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady addressed his wife's comments in regard to whether he sustained a concussion last season.

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen caused a modest stir when she declared in May that Brady had, indeed, sustained a concussion. Although his agent denied Bundchen's comments two days later, Brady attempted to shed light on the topic during an E:60 piece which aired Sunday in an interview with ESPN's Kevin Negandhi.

When asked about how much he talks to his wife about the hits he takes, Brady said the following:

"She's there every day. I mean, we go to bed in the same bed every night, so I think she knows when I'm sore, she knows when I'm tired, she knows when I get hit," he said. "We drive home together (from games). But, she also knows how well I take care of myself. She's a very concerned wife and very loving."

Brady's response wasn't an emphatic dismissal of Bundchen's comments, and he wasn't asked directly in the piece whether he had sustained a concussion.

Don Yee, Brady's agent, said on May 19 his client did not suffer a concussion in 2016.

"Tom was not diagnosed with a concussion last year," Yee said in a statement to ESPN, NFL Network and other media outlets. "Many of the protocols and safeguards still are evolving, and it's obviously a good thing the organization and everyone close to him is vigilant and always looking out for his health."

That statement came two days after Bundchen appeared on "CBS This Morning" and said her husband "had a concussion last year" and alluded to more concussions during his career.

The supermodel was asked by CBS' Charlie Rose of her thoughts on Brady's plans to play into his mid-40s and whether she wants him to retire from football.

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"I just have to say, as a wife, as you know (the NFL) is not the most, let's say, unaggressive sport. Football, he had a concussion last year," she said in the interview. "He has concussions pretty much every -- I mean we don't talk about it.

"But he has concussions and I don't really think it's a healthy thing for your body to go through. You know, that kind of aggression all the time, that cannot be healthy for you. I'm planning on having him be healthy and do a lot of fun things when we're like 100 I hope."

Bundchen did not clarify when her husband suffered a concussion or whether it was medically diagnosed. She was not asked a follow-up question about her comments.

Brady has never officially been listed with a concussion or head injury in his professional career.

The Patriots did not list Brady as having a concussion at any point in the 2016 season, but he sat out the first four games due to the Deflategate suspension given by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Brady, who has not missed a game due to injury since 2008 when he tore his ACL in a Week 1 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, was listed with thigh, knee and ankle injuries at various points in 2016.

Brady, who turns 40 in August ahead of his 18th NFL season, is a five-time Super Bowl champion, four-time Super Bowl MVP and two-time league MVP. He collected his fifth ring in February when the Patriots overcome a 25-point deficit in the third quarter to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime of Super Bowl LI.

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