There is a really asinine piece of writing in USA Today, tackling the subject of Tom Brady’s friendship with Donald Trump. With it being Super Bowl week, they need something to tie their two favorite things – being bad at politics and being bad at sports – together. So, naturally, a piece called “Tom Brady has some explaining to do on Donald Trump.”

HOUSTON — Tom Brady no longer gets a pass on his friendship with Donald Trump.

Not after this weekend, when the country boiled over in rage and indignation at Trump’s decision to turn America’s back on refugees. Not after this season, when Colin Kaepernick was pilloried from coast to coast for trying to draw attention to the shortcomings of our country.

You read that right. A writer just compared the best quarterback in the country to this season’s worst performing one.

Sure, Colin Kaepernick “raised awareness,” but it was for his own, waning brand. Brady, meanwhile, has dominated on and off the field to keep his team, one that he has helped elevate for years, at the top of mountain. There’s simply no comparison there. The only other quarterback of tremendous note this year would probably be Dak Prescott, whose entry into a starting position was as sudden as it was phenomenal.

But, Brady has consistently been a force to be reckoned with. I’m no fan, but that’s just statistics. However, being the king of the mountain for so long does eventually leave you as the one to be hated most, and Brady is no stranger to fan and media ire. This column, however, is worthless in trying to pin a new controversy on him.

Brady might not agree with Trump’s views or his policies, as he seemed to indicate last week during his weekly appearance on WEEI’s “Kirk and Callahan” radio show. His support might have more to do with Trump’s many golf courses than the man himself.

But in refusing to publicly disavow Trump’s actions, Brady is giving tacit endorsement to both Trump and the chaos he has created.

[…]

If Brady needs an example of how that’s done, he can look at Kaepernick.

From the day his national anthem protest became public in August, Kaepernick has been open, available and consistent with his opinion. It has not been a popular one; as the protests spread across the league, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback was portrayed as anti-American, anti-military and anti-police – all of which he denies.

He’s had insults, slurs and worse directed at him. He was blamed for the drop in TV ratings early in the season. One person last week even tried to say Trump’s election was partly the result of Kaepernick’s protests.

These are just insane ramblings of someone who, like so many others in the sports media, are trying their hand at making things about politics. Kaepernick is no hero, and a good many sports personalities have condemned his actions as a means to rejuvenate his brand, and they have been harsh, though fairly so, on the 49er’s QB because of it.

There is no comparison to make here. None whatsoever. And, you only succeed in trying to shame someone into abandoning a friend… a particularly silly move here, as Brady has refused to back down on anything where the media has been concerned in the past.