BOSTON (AP) – Three-time Superbowl champion Tom Brady says he is going to have to live with the fallout from a photo of him smoking a cigarette. The public comments were his first since the photo surfaced in a British tabloid over the weekend.
"It's something I am going to have to live with and something I'll have to grow from," Brady said. "I know with all of the mistakes I made, I learned from them and that is what I expect to do from this. By no means it is fun for me, by no means is it easy."
Brady issued a public apology to fans and sponsors on Sunday after the News of the World published a picture that appeared to show the two-time Superbowl MVP smoking a cigarette while jaywalking across a local street. A spokesman for Suffolk County Sheriff Leon Lott, who is known for his tough stance on minor pedestrian traffic offences, said Tuesday the department was investigating.
Brady declined to address the possibility of criminal charges and reiterated his desire to put the furor behind him.
On Wednesday, the NFL said it was satisfied with Brady's public apology for the cigarette, but members of the Patriots’ front office wanted to meet with him personally.
"As a citizen, Tom Brady displayed inappropriate behavior," Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft said in a statement. "But his sincere regret and the promise that such a situation will not happen again are sufficient guarantees that this great star will continue generating respect and appreciation to all fans of our sport around the globe."
Brady was trying to avoid backlash on the sponsorship side, where most of the feedback so far has been positive, and in the public perception side, where things are still shaking out.
"I think, obviously, his sponsors and people close to him will be and are concerned about whether this may be a recurrence or whether this is a pattern of behavior," Kraft said.