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NFLPA Director DeMaurice Smith Criticizes Tom Brady For Holding Workouts With Teammates In Florida During Pandemic

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NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith is not happy with Tom Brady for hosting private workouts in the middle of a pandemic.

Earlier this week, Brady defied the recommendation of the NFL Players Association’s medical director Thom Mayer and worked out with some of his teammates in Florida, despite the fact the state is beginning to see a surge of Coronavirus cases.

After being criticized for the workout, Brady took to Instagram to imply that he didn’t fear the virus by quoting FDR.

On Sunday morning, Smith criticized Brady and his teammates by stating that the workouts were “not in the best interest of player safety.”

“Those practices are not in the best interest of player safety,” “They’re not in the best interest of protecting our players heading into training camp. And I don’t think they are in the best interest of us getting through an entire season.”

“I certainly understand how competitive our players are and I get that,” Smith said. ” At the same time, we are in the process of trying to negotiate, we have to negotiate with the league what happens when a player tests positive during the season. Does that player go on injured reserve? Do they go on short-term IR? If you test positive for the virus after training camp, is that a work-related injury? Are you covered under workers comp? What benefits are available to you if you have downstream injuries from contacting COVID-19?

Apparently, the Bucs aren’t concerned with Brady’s workouts as long as he isn’t breaking any laws.