TAMPA, Florida – Immediately after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl LV on Sunday, defender Tom Brady sent an apology for the safety of Chiefs Tyrann Mathieu for several verbal altercations on the field, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
ESPN read aloud the content of the text.
Brady apologized to Mathieu for losing his composure in the heat of the moment, about which Mathieu said, “I’ve never really seen that part of him.”
During the game, Brady and Mathieu fought several times. At one point, Brady even followed him and stepped in front of him.
Brady called Mathieu the “final contestant” in his apology and said he knew he had to match Mathieu’s intensity on Sunday.
Brady told Mathieu that he had watched him since his days at LSU and praised Mathieu for his heart, calling him “an incredible leader, champion and class act.”
Brady also expressed his desire to apologize personally in the future. He said that his outbursts in an emotional moment were by no means a reflection on his feelings towards Mathieu, about whom he talked a lot during the week before the game.
Mathieu explained his part about the altercation, saying in a deleted tweet since then, that Brady started spitting verbally when he called Mathieu “something I won’t repeat.”
“He’s clearly following me, but I’ve been reported,” Mathieu said in another deleted tweet.