FOXBOROUGH, Mass. _ Tom Brady might be terrific, but he doesn't think too much of that certain nickname that has angered New Yorkers.
On Thursday, the Patriots quarterback addressed the controversy surrounding his attempt to trademark the name "Tom Terrific." As it turns out, he hates the nickname so much, his goal was to make it so other people couldn't capitalize on his likeness with the alliteration.
"I did (see the outrage). It's unfortunate," Brady said. "I was actually trying to do something because I didn't like the nickname and I wanted to make sure no one used it because some people wanted to use it. I was trying to keep people from using it and then it got spun around to something different than what it was. Lesson learned and I'll try to do things a little different in the future."
This week, Brady's filed two trademark applications for the exclusive rights of 'Tom Terrific.' That set off a firestorm of protests from New Yorkers due to the fact it's also baseball Hall of Famer Tom Seaver's nickname. This past March, Seaver's family announced that the 74-year-old was retiring from the public life due to his dementia diagnosis.
On Tuesday, protesters in New York got together to throw baked beans at Brady merchandise.
"I didn't want people associating me with that," Brady said. "It's something I didn't want to have happen. I don't like the nickname. I don't like when people probably give me many nice compliments, certainly that. It wasn't something I was trying to do out of any disrespect or any ill manner."
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