Last time out at federal court in Manhattan, it didn’t go so well for Jane Rosenberg. The courtroom sketch artist was given the brief of a lifetime: draw Tom Brady looking bored as various court officials drone on and on about ball pressure and settlements and four-game NFL suspensions.
Unfortunately for Rosenberg, it didn’t quite happen for her. The finished picture failed to adequately capture Brady’s rugged good looks. The lantern jaw. The cleft chin. The brooding, contemplative demeanour. The NFL’s most photogenic star was left looking distinctly suboptimal, and people were not amused:
Tom Brady's courtroom sketch perfectly captures the, um, well... pic.twitter.com/04KyTfdCxD
— HuffPost Sports (@HuffPostSports) August 12, 2015
Rosenberg drew the ire of a million disgruntled commentators on social media. His face is too squidgy, they said. He’s not handsome enough, they complained. He looks just like ET. He looks just like Gollum. He looks just like James Carville.
But on Monday, Rosenberg was back, as the latest court hearing in the seemingly interminable Deflategate saga got under way. This time, Rosenberg was ready. And this time, she did much better:
Closer look at today's #TomBrady #deflategate courtroom sketches. Credit: Jane Rosenberg pic.twitter.com/QaHiMU17cU
— Jim Armstrong (@JimArmstrongWBZ) August 31, 2015
It was a hit. Just about. The chin is appropriately dimpled, the cheekbones high and tight. Naysayers may contest that Brady’s left eye looks somewhat crumpled, but we shouldn’t quibble.
Rosenberg acknowledged that the public scrutiny that accompanied her first drawing had been difficult to deal with.
“It’s a nightmare for me,” Rosenberg told the New York Daily News in an interview published Sunday. “I hope this thing gets settled and is over with.”
She even issued an apology to people who really didn’t deserve it: “I didn’t make Tom Brady look as handsome as he is,” she said. “I apologize to Tom Brady. And all the NFL fans.”
She added: “He’s a very handsome guy. It’s very hard in a very short time to get somebody so good-looking to look as good as they look [in person].
“There’s no characteristic that really stands out. He doesn’t have a big nose, he doesn’t have bushy eyebrows or a beard. He’s just all perfect – perfect angles, nice blue eyes.”
Incidentally, Brady and the NFL didn’t reach a settlement. A decision on his four-game suspension is expected by Friday this week.
