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      The Weeknd Emerges From the Shadows at the Super Bowl Halftime Show

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Super Bowl 2021liveGame UpdatesThe CommercialsHalftime ShowTom Brady Endures at 43Fans Still Traveled for the GameAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyThe Weeknd Emerges From the Shadows at the Super Bowl Halftime ShowThe singer’s spectacle featured a hall of mirrors and bandaged dancers as he performed before a cityscape carved into the stadium’s stands.The Weeknd performed a career-spanning set at the Super Bowl halftime show, but was mostly confined to the stands.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesFeb. 7, 2021, 8:57 p.m. ETWhen the Weeknd put out his first mixtape “House of Balloons” in 2011, his identity was largely shrouded in mystery. On Sunday, he took one of the biggest stages in pop, the halftime of Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.The Weeknd (a.k.a. the 30-year-old Toronto singer and songwriter Abel Tesfaye) began his set in the stands, emerging in front of rows of lights to perform “Starboy” and “The Hills” with a choir, then he relocated into a hallway of lights and mirrors for “Can’t Feel My Face” as dancers with bandaged faces swarmed him. With fireworks lighting up the sky, he returned to the open air for “I Feel It Coming,” a large moon rising over the cityscape projected behind him.While a musician in a glittery mask strummed a guitar, the Weeknd turned toward the more optimistic “Save Your Tears” and “Earned It,” accompanied by strings and ending on a long, triumphant note. An army of performers outfitted like the Weeknd dance-marched down the field and the singer energetically sprinted beside them to herald his grand finale: his recent hit “Blinding Lights,” an ecstatic, driving disco-pop song.The Weeknd took the field only for the finale, “Blinding Lights.”Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesThe Weeknd has released four albums since 2013, including his breakthrough, “Beauty Behind the Madness” in 2015. While promoting his latest LP, “After Hours,” he has dressed in a black shirt and red jacket and sported an increasingly banged-up and bandaged face while spinning a narrative in appearances at the MTV Video Music Awards and the American Music Awards, as well as late-night shows and in music videos. (He has said the character he’s portraying “is having a really bad night,” and in music videos the plot involves possibly being overtaken by an evil spirit and committing murder.)“After Hours,” which was released in March after the pandemic lockdown paused live touring, opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with the equivalent of 440,000 sales in the United States. After the demonstrations sparked by the killing of George Floyd, the Weeknd donated $500,000 to nonprofit organizations focused on racial equality and used his acceptance speeches at the V.M.A.s to say “justice for Jacob Blake and justice for Breonna Taylor.” But in what is seen a major snub, the Weeknd received no nominations for the Grammy Awards, which were to take place on Jan. 31, a week before the Super Bowl; the awards were later moved back to March 14 as Covid-19 raged in Los Angeles, where the ceremony will be held.When the nominations were announced in November, the Weeknd spoke out on social media, writing, “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency …” Harvey Mason Jr., the chairman and interim chief executive of the Recording Academy, denied that the Weeknd’s lack of nominations was retaliation for performing at the Super Bowl, as some suggested in theories online.The Weeknd’s halftime show faced a unique set of challenges because of the pandemic. About 1,050 people worked on the show, a much smaller group than most years, and preparations included frequent Covid-19 testing and social distancing in production trailers. This is the second Super Bowl halftime show produced in part by Jay-Z and Roc Nation: Last year, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira performed sets heavy on dancing and Latin pride for fans jammed elbow to elbow on the field — a scenario that was impossible in 2021.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Amanda Gorman is the first poet to perform for the Super Bowl.

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Super Bowl 2021liveGame UpdatesThe CommercialsHalftime ShowTom Brady Endures at 43Fans Still Traveled for the GameAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySuper Bowl Live Updates: Bucs Closing in on ChampionshipAmanda Gorman is the first poet to perform for the Super Bowl.Feb. 7, 2021, 6:33 p.m. ETFeb. 7, 2021, 6:33 p.m. ETAmanda Gorman at President Biden’s inauguration last month.Credit…Erin Schaff/The New York TimesIn her short but already momentous career, the 22-year-old poet Amanda Gorman has accomplished a stunning series of firsts. At 19, she became the country’s first Youth Poet Laureate. Last month, when she recited her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” at President Biden’s inauguration, she became the youngest inaugural poet in American history. And on Sunday, she became the first poet ever to perform for the Super Bowl.Before the game, Gorman delivered an original poem titled “Chorus of the Captains” in a taped segment. Gorman wrote the poem to celebrate three people who were chosen as honorary captains to take part in the coin toss: Trimaine Davis, a Los Angeles teacher who helped his students get laptops for remote schooling; Suzie Dorner, a nurse in a Tampa who works with Covid-19 patients in an intensive care unit, and James Martin, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from Pittsburgh who has worked to support veterans, high school athletes and young people in his community.In a performance before the coin toss, Gorman paid homage to the honorary captains:Today we honor our three captainsFor their actions and impact inA time of uncertainty and need.They’ve taken the lead,Exceeding all expectations and limitations,Uplifting their communities and neighborsAs leaders, healers, and educatorsEver since she stole the show with a charismatic performance at the inauguration last month, Gorman has seen interest in her work soar. Her publisher announced that it will print three million copies of her upcoming titles, which include her debut poetry collection and a picture book. Barack Obama, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Oprah Winfrey praised her on social media. IMG Models signed Gorman and will represent her for fashion and beauty endorsements.Appearing at the Super Bowl will likely bring an even larger audience to her work. The N.F.L. contacted Gorman in November, when the league was trying to create a ceremony that would reflect the challenges the country is facing. It decided to open the game by celebrating people who have helped their communities through the pandemic.“We knew that in order to honor them properly — and all of those across the country that they represent — we needed the right words that would match the power of that moment, and there’s no one more perfectly suited to bring those words to the world than Amanda Gorman,” Matt Shapiro, the N.F.L.’s vice president of events strategy, said in a statement.At the end of her poem, Gorman cited the tireless work of Dorner, the intensive care nurse, as proof that “even in tragedy, hope is possible.”We celebrate them by actingWith courage and compassion,By doing what is right and just.For while we honor them today,It is they who every day honor us.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Tom Brady, Defying Age, Heads to Another Super Bowl

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Super Bowl 2021Why the Chiefs Will WinTom Brady vs. Patrick MahomesA Super Bowl Trip Is Worth the Risk to Some Fans17 Recipes for Tiny TailgatesAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyThrough Genetics, Luck or ‘Prehab,’ Tom Brady Endures at 43The mother of the opposing Super Bowl LV quarterback was a year old when Brady was born. What’s he still doing here?Tom Brady, seemingly defying nature at 43, is about to play in his 10th Super Bowl. Credit…Brett Duke/Associated PressFeb. 7, 2021Updated 9:11 a.m. ETFootball fans know what old quarterbacks look like as they fade away. It is not like Tom Brady.Old quarterbacks hobble around the field, propped on stiff hips and achy knees, their arms ragged and their faces craggy. They look like survivors, elevated in myth but diminished in stature.Vaults and minds are filled with clips of Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Brett Favre and all the other creaky quarterbacks who tempted the fates of time and tradition, shunning retirement until deep — maybe too deep — into Hall-of-Fame careers.When John Elway played his last game, winning a Super Bowl, he was 38. Peyton Manning did the same at 39. Rigid and worn, older quarterbacks usually move as if they might be unable to tie the laces on their cleats.Then there is Brady, a cyborg. He is 43. Does he have a wrinkle on his face? Is his arm bionic? Are his joints made of rubber? He probably can tie his own laces while doing downward dog.“You look at this guy and think, ‘Wow, it’s absolutely incredible,” said Gordon Lithgow, a professor and vice president of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, Calif. “Is he actually aging at a slower rate than other people?”That is the question football fans are asking ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl LV between Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs.The answer appears to be yes, at least in football terms. The hard question is why.“There’s no way that elite athletes are immune to aging,” Lithgow said. “You can see quite a precipitous drop-off in performance — even though they are way above average, it’s still happening at the same rates.”Brady, who is in his first season with Tampa Bay after 20 years with the New England Patriots, will be the oldest player to participate in a Super Bowl, at any position. He is the only quarterback to start a Super Bowl after age 40, and he is about to do it for the third time.Brady was born in 1977, the summer of “Star Wars,” Son of Sam and the death of Elvis (at 42, notably). Brady has been alive for every victory in Tampa Bay franchise history. (The Buccaneers were 0-14 in 1976, their inaugural season.)The 18-year age gap between him and Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the biggest ever between Super Bowl starting quarterbacks. When Brady was born, Mahomes’s mother was 1.Brady, who will face Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl, is a contemporary of Mahomes’s mother.Credit…Jason Behnken/Associated PressBrady was selected in the 2000 N.F.L. draft and has been a starting quarterback since New England’s second game after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Each of the 11 other quarterbacks drafted in 2000 (Brady was the seventh taken) has been out of the N.F.L. for at least nine years. This will be his 10th Super Bowl. He has won six of them and earned the game’s Most Valuable Player Award four times.“If anyone has any superlatives that haven’t been used yet, you know how to get in touch with me,” said Jim Nantz, the Super Bowl play-by-play announcer for CBS. “My reservoir is bone dry.”Sports fans are accustomed to the inevitability of late-career declines by stars. But this season Brady threw 40 touchdowns, the second-highest total of his career. Still mobile in the pocket, he was sacked at a lower rate than his career average. Hardly a weak-armed version of his past self, he recorded an average air distance on his throws, whether completed or not, that was longer (9.1 yards) than in the previous two seasons with New England.Brady looks more like his younger self than like a doddering old quarterback.Is he the best athlete ever? How can that be measured?Brady may not be the best football player, or even the best quarterback. But through an incalculable algorithm of excellence, consistency and time, Brady might come out No. 1.Peddling His PliabilityBrady, though, might not be No. 1 in the hearts of football fans. Age and accomplishment bring respect to older athletes, but Brady and the Patriots dynasty of the past two decades proved especially hard to adore for those outside New England. They won steadily behind their cranky coach, Bill Belichick, and the cool Brady, who long ago shed any underdog charm he brought into the league as a sixth-round draft pick.The Patriots rarely dazzled. They were seldom fun. They were respected in the way that steamrollers are. They swapped coordinators, shuffled the roster and got older, yet Belichick and Brady kept winning. It was hard to explain. Any awe came from their relentless efficiency.Controversies surrounding accusations of cheating — Spygate in 2007, Deflategate in 2015 — cling loosely to their championships, like dryer sheets on fresh laundry.Brady’s skills have never been obvious, but he was always there, smiling and holding the trophy. It could seem a bit much — his persistent winning, his sunny but vapid California disposition, his supermodel wife, his Uggs.Now he is recast with the Buccaneers, an innocuous franchise that elicits little emotional reflex, playing for an affable coach in Bruce Arians, an anti-Belichick. And Brady, wearing a new costume, performs like a carnival act — Come see the ageless man! — as audiences gather in wonder for another look, if not the last one.Nantz has twice thought he had broadcast Brady’s last game — two years ago in a Super Bowl victory, last season in a playoff loss. Will this Super Bowl be the end? It does not seem so. Brady talks of playing to 45, maybe beyond.His age is now his business. Brady has marketed his longevity, packaged it into something called the TB12 Method, and explained it in a 2017 book espousing muscle “pliability.” The goal is a spongy elasticity that can absorb all that life throws at a body, even that of an aging quarterback.Brady’s longevity is now his business. His company offers TB12 Performance Meals, “freshly frozen for your active lifestyle.”Credit…Maddie Meyer/Getty Images“Balderdash,” one physiology professor has said of the pliability theory.Brady’s long career is not just vital to the pitch. It is the pitch. The main headline on the TB12 home page reads, “Still Here,” mocking our amazement. The implication is clear: The elusive Fountain of Youth might come boxed in a “TB12 Immunity Gameplan Starter Kit” ($175).There are no N.F.L. logos, no mentions of the Patriots or Buccaneers — just the lure of youthfulness and positivity. Whenever he retires from football, Brady will still be in our lives, selling not cars, pizza or insurance, but aspiration and lifestyle — part Jack LaLanne, part Gwyneth Paltrow.Items for sale include TB12 Performance Meals, “freshly frozen for your active lifestyle.” Brady’s diet is mostly plant-based — but no strawberries, because he detests the smell of them, a trait that football opponents have somehow been unable to exploit. He fills his body with protein shakes, TB12-branded electrolytes and lots of water — “Drink at least one-half of your body weight in ounces of water daily,” he instructs on the site.TB12 also sells dietary supplements, exercise equipment (lots of stretchy bands and vibrating rollers and balls) and clothing (including shirts reading “20 Seasons” and “Tampa Brady”).Acolytes can make an appointment with a TB12 Body Coach, “your partner in performance and recovery,” either virtually or at one of several TB12 locations in Massachusetts and Florida. “Replacing injury and rehab with pliability and prehab” is a catchphrase. Sleep and mindfulness are also promoted at TB12 as key components to good health.The prevailing mood is calm, which feels counter to football’s grunting culture of power and testosterone. All that is missing are candles scented like Tom Brady.Does his philosophy work? Is that the key to his football longevity, or is Brady merely the beneficiary of great genes and luck?After all, he has not missed a game because of injury since 2008.“Genetics is probably less than 10 percent of the equation,” Lithgow, the aging expert, said. “That means that there’s a whole lot of stuff out there, in terms of environment, everything we’re exposed to, that actually plays a much, much larger part — which is kind of good news, actually. It means that maybe we have some ability to control our own rate of aging.”Brady and his “method” suggest that he has found the optimal blend of diet, exercise and sleep. Those factors certainly affect aging, Lithgow said.“But — and it’s a big but,” he said, “with any of these interventions or systems, we can’t say anything about them until they’re subject to a normal double-blind clinical trial.”“If you find something that works for you, that’s great,” Lithgow added. “That’s just looking after yourself, and it’s not science, and it’s not something you can necessarily recommend for your next-door neighbor because they may respond completely differently to it.”For someone so adept at selling himself, Brady has been shrouded in suspicion of his own making. In 2015, he was the focus of Deflategate, the N.F.L. investigation into whether Brady instructed team employees to reduce the air pressure in footballs below the league standard to gain some sort of advantage. (Brady was suspended in 2016 for four games, the only ones he has missed since 2008.) In recent years, a relationship with the controversial fitness guru Alex Guerrero has further cast Brady as someone trying to hide something.Alex Guerrero, a fitness guru who is Brady’s partner in TB12, is also the quarterback’s trainer, counselor and adviser, as well as godfather to one of his sons.Credit…Scott Eisen/Getty ImagesGuerrero, a purveyor of holistic medicine, was charged in 2004 by the Federal Trade Commission with deceptively marketing an herbal supplement called Supreme Greens. Infomercials starring “Dr. Guerrero” (he has no doctorate or license to practice medicine) claimed the product could prevent and cure cancer, diabetes and heart disease, among other maladies, and spur substantial weight loss. The case was settled in 2005, and Guerrero was required to pay $65,000 or to give up his 2004 Cadillac Escalade.That is about when Brady and Guerrero began working closely together. They founded TB12 in 2013. In 2015, a New York Times article referred to Guerrero as Brady’s “best friend” and “his spiritual guide, counselor, pal, nutrition adviser, trainer, massage therapist and family member.” He is a godfather to one of Brady’s sons.Guerrero’s constant presence around the Patriots reportedly caused friction with Belichick, who kept Guerrero off the team plane and limited his sideline access in 2017. In 2018, another player working with Guerrero, receiver Julian Edelman, was suspended for four games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.Brady has made theater of not discussing Guerrero. During a weekly radio obligation in Boston in 2018, he refused to answer questions about Guerrero and hung up.After Brady’s contract expired last year, the Patriots reportedly did not offer a new deal. Only two teams, the Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Chargers, took serious runs at him. Brady left for Tampa Bay, taking Guerrero with him.In October, Brady posted birthday wishes to Guerrero on Instagram. “It’s not often in life we find people that share so many common beliefs,” he wrote, in part. “Love you big bro!!”A Merchandising PhenomenonWhatever Brady is doing, his ability to defy his age has captured the collective imagination of football fans.When the N.F.L. playoffs began, they seemed like a seniors tournament. Drew Brees (42), Philip Rivers (39), Ben Roethlisberger (38) and Aaron Rodgers (37) all led their teams into the postseason. Each is likely to end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.Only the oldest of the elders, Brady, reached the Super Bowl — again.Last year, Mahomes merchandise (jerseys and numbered T-shirts) set sales records during the two weeks before the Super Bowl, according to Fanatics, which operates online stores for the N.F.L.Brady merchandise surpassed the two-week total for Mahomes items just three days after Tampa Bay won a spot in the Super Bowl, the company said.Buccaneers fans on Tampa’s Riverwalk. Brady has said he would like to play in the N.F.L. until he is 45 and perhaps beyond.Credit…Eve Edelheit for The New York Times“The greatest who ever walked,” said the former quarterback Tony Romo, who will be Nantz’s broadcast partner for the Super Bowl.Romo had a 14-year N.F.L. career, long by most standards. But he is three years younger than Brady, and he retired four seasons ago with a sore back.Fans know what old quarterbacks look like. They can see one in the broadcast booth on Sunday.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Mike Tyson smokes dodgy-looking cigarette ahead of massive Super Bowl tropical pool party in Tampa

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      MIKE TYSON posed while smoking a dodgy-looking cigarette ahead of a massive Super Bowl tropical pool party in Tampa.
      Tyson was a guest at the WTR Pool and Grill club in Florida ahead of the NFL finale between Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

      Mike Tyson pictured smoking at a Super Bowl pre-game partyCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      Mike Tyson has a cannabis empire with his business partnerCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      The WTR is a 20,000 square foot indoor and outdoor bayside and poolside venue, which had rap artists like Migos performing this year.
      Heavyweight heavyweight legend Tyson – who has a cannabis empire with his business partner – was pictured kicking back and having a smoke.
      Iron Mike, 54, is believed to earn around £500,000-per-month through his Tyson Ranch, built over 418-acres.
      He offers premium marijuana strains, edibles and extracts alongside colleague Rob Hickman.

      But he revealed he stopped taking cocaine and drinking alcohol after the success of his Hotboxin podcast, launched in 2017.
      Despite taking time out party ahead of the American football curtain closer, Tyson is already training for his next fight.
      Iron Mike made his ring return, 15 years after retiring, last November as he boxed to a draw over eight exhibitions rounds against Roy Jones Jr, 52.
      And recent footage released showed the reformed Baddest Man on The Planet sparring for the second fight on his comeback trail.

      Mike Tyson pictured at the NFL partyCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      Rap group Migos perform at the WTR in TampaCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      Migos performing ahead of the Super Bowl finaleCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      It comes after SunSport revealed he is in talks for a trilogy with long-time rival Evander Holyfield.
      It is understood the pair – with a combined age of 112 – are in negotiations to extend their rivalry with a third fight in Dubai.
      The American legends went toe-to-toe twice, with Holyfield winning the thrilling November 1996 original with an 11th-round stoppage.
      The rematch, seven months later, is one of the most infamous in history after Tyson was disqualified for biting off a chunk of the Real Deal’s ear.

      Mike Tyson pictured with Roy Jones JrCredit: USA TODAY Sports

      Mike Tyson looks sharp and powerful as 54-year-old shows off brutal power preparing for £200m Evander Holyfield rematch More

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      How the Chiefs and Buccaneers Got to the Super Bowl

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      How the Chiefs and Buccaneers Got to the Super BowlJason Behnken/Associated PressNearly everyone expected Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to be back in the Super Bowl. Far fewer people thought Tom Brady, at 43, could take Tampa Bay this far.Here’s a look at the road to Sunday’s game for both teams → More

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      A Guide to Super Bowl 2021: What You Need to Know

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      The game will be broadcast on CBS and streamed free on CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports app, which is available on various smartphones and streaming platforms. Jim Nantz and Tony Romo will provide the commentary, as they did two years ago (last year’s game was on Fox). ESPN Deportes will provide Spanish coverage.

      You can also follow along with New York Times reporters on our website and app, where we’ll be discussing the game, the ads and the halftime show. We highly recommend it!

      Among the broadcasters worldwide are Seven Network (Australia), CTV (Canada), L’Équipe (France), DAZN (Germany), the BBC (U.K.) and Viasat Sport East (Uzbekistan). More

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      Why Some Women Don’t Want Antonio Brown in the Super Bowl

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Super Bowl 2021Why the Chiefs Will WinTom Brady vs. Patrick MahomesA Super Bowl Trip Is Worth the Risk to Some Fans17 Recipes for Tiny TailgatesAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storySports of the TimesWhy Some Women Don’t Want Antonio Brown in the Super BowlThe Buccaneers receiver has been one of the most electrifying players in the N.F.L., but he is facing accusations of sexual assault and harassment.Antonio Brown of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been one of the best receivers in the N.F.L., but has faced serious accusations of abuse against women.Credit…Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesFeb. 6, 2021, 9:00 a.m. ETGet over it.That was the message Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown tried to convey this past week.The past doesn’t matter, he seemed to say. With the Super Bowl upon us, the only concern should be about his ability to catch passes on Sunday.Brown’s preferred talking points were his love for quarterback Tom Brady, his team’s drive to beat the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs, and his comeback.That comeback did not involve an injury that eroded his electrifying talent on the field. Those skills have remained sufficiently intact for Brown, 32, to find a plush spot in the N.F.L., in spite of the history he did not want to discuss at a requisite pre-Super Bowl news conference.“I’d be doing a disservice if I talked about things that are not a focus of this game,” he said.Those things include withering verbal abuse aimed at the mother of three of his children and recorded on video. And an accusation of sexual harassment that was described in detail in a national magazine. And a looming lawsuit accusing him of rape, a claim that Brown has vociferously denied.Now, he is one win from a championship ring after off-the-field trouble sent his career into one of the most stunning tumbles experienced by a star athlete in recent memory.Tampa Bay gambled on him in a way that no other team dared, signing Brown to a one-year contract in October after he had been out of the game for a season and a half. The Buccaneers did not heed commentators who, looking at the pattern of trouble around Brown, said he needed time away from the league — possibly for good, but at least until his lawsuit was resolved.The team also chose to look past the #MeToo movement and its fundamental lesson: Women with stories of pain, and of powerlessness in their dealings with famous men, should be heard and taken seriously.Let’s remember that one in four women are subjected to abuse by intimate partners during their lifetimes, according to a government report. Let’s think of what they endure every time they see athletes like Brown, with unresolved accusations around them, take the field.Let’s listen to Brenda Tracy, who describes herself as the survivor of a 1998 gang rape by a group of men that included two Oregon State football players. The players weren’t criminally charged, but they were suspended by the coach for making “a bad choice.” Tracy became an advocate for abused women, working toward change by sharing her story with anyone who will listen. Colleges across the country have hired her to speak to their athletic teams.“I won’t be watching the Super Bowl this year,” she told me. “With Antonio Brown out there, it’s just too much.”Ahead of the big game, Brown characterized himself as a changed man — humbled, grateful, and in control. He spoke in quiet, careful tones. He gave the sense that he sees the accusations as a chance to prove that he can conquer adversity, mostly by catching Brady’s passes.“I want my legacy to be a guy that was persistent, a guy that never gave up, no matter the odds, no matter the hate,” Brown said.Tom Brady said recently that he and Brown had “connected right away” as Patriots teammates. Credit…Brynn Anderson/Associated PressWhat he really wanted was to move on.Let’s not. Let’s look at the claims, made by a personal trainer named Britney Taylor, in the lawsuit.In court filings, Taylor said that Brown assaulted her twice in 2017. She also asserted that Brown raped her in 2018.Through his legal team, the wide receiver has denied the accusations. He has countersued, accusing Taylor of defamation. Brown and Taylor were involved in a “consensual personal relationship,” his lawyer said in a statement.It is important to remember that the court proceedings can still be avoided if the two parties reach a settlement. It is not a criminal trial, in which Brown would face the possibility of prison.But Britney Taylor isn’t alone.In a Sports Illustrated article, an artist made detailed accusations of sexual harassment by Brown. The wide receiver also once targeted the mother of three of his children with a profane tirade and then posted a video of the incident on social media.On Twitter in 2018, he threatened a reporter from ESPN’s The Undefeated who wrote an article about Brown’s thorny personal life and turbocharged social media use. Brown ended up apologizing through a statement: “It is not OK to threaten anyone, and I need to be better spiritually and professionally.”That year he also settled a lawsuit that accused him of throwing heavy furniture from his 14th-floor apartment and nearly hitting a toddler.Brown’s exasperating behavior as a teammate prompted the Pittsburgh Steelers to trade him to the Oakland Raiders in 2019. Just before the start of the season, the Raiders dumped him for similar reasons.He landed briefly in New England, early in Brady’s final season with the Patriots. The lawsuit accusing Brown of rape soon became public, followed by the artist’s accusations of harassment. His third employer of that year cut him loose.Brady, who said recently that he and Brown had “connected right away” in New England, endorsed Tampa Bay’s decision to bring the receiver aboard midway through this season. When Brown arrived in town, he initially lived in Brady’s home.Yet Brown and the Buccaneers seem like an odd pairing. The team has two full-time female coaches, and there were only eight in the entire league this season. The Women’s Sports Foundation has honored Coach Bruce Arians for supporting women in the N.F.L.But Arians proved that talent matters more than principle.Sadly, that’s too often the bottom line for male stars in major sports. If you are accused of abusing or harassing women and are easy to replace, your job is probably gone. It doesn’t take a conviction, trial or arrest. (See Jared Porter, the former New York Mets general manager who was fired after accusations that he had repeatedly sent inappropriate texts to a female reporter.)If you are a star, well, your entitlement is virtually unlimited.Brown signed with the Buccaneers just after completing an eight-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. The reason for that penalty? He had pleaded no contest to burglary and assault charges after a dispute with a truck driver.He had every opportunity to express remorse for that incident this past week. He did not. So again, let’s listen instead to women, to people who won’t be in front of a huge global audience this weekend.Mindy Murphy runs The Spring of Tampa Bay, the largest shelter serving domestic violence survivors in Hillsborough County, home to the Buccaneers.When the N.F.L. tried to change its culture a few years ago, after Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was caught striking his fiancée, Murphy helped conduct training with the Buccaneers on abuse.Now she feels disillusioned.Seeing Brown chase a Super Bowl ring is a “disservice to what survivors have experienced,” she said. “When a team in the N.F.L. says, ‘We are going to hire him, and he deserves a second chance,’ or they say, ‘We don’t know for sure what’s happened, because it happened behind closed doors,’ they reinforce the idea that it’s not a good idea to speak up.”Remember that while watching the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl, and also remember Brown’s past.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Britt Reid, a Chiefs Assistant Coach, Is Involved in a Car Crash

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Super Bowl 2021Why the Chiefs Will WinTom Brady vs. Patrick MahomesA Super Bowl Trip Is Worth the Risk to Some Fans17 Recipes for Tiny TailgatesAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyBritt Reid, a Chiefs Assistant Coach, Is Involved in a Car CrashThe team released a statement confirming that Reid, the son of Kansas City’s head coach, Andy Reid, had been in an accident but provided no other details.Coach Andy Reid with his son Britt, an assistant coach, after the Chiefs won the Super Bowl last year.Credit…Patrick Semansky/Associated PressKen Belson and Feb. 5, 2021Britt Reid, the outside linebackers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs and the son of the head coach, Andy Reid, was in an automobile crash on Thursday night, the team said in a statement Friday.The crash occurred just days before both men were expected to be in Tampa, Fla., for the Super Bowl on Sunday, when the Chiefs, the reigning N.F.L. champions, are scheduled to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Chiefs were planning to fly to Tampa on Saturday, and it was not clear on Friday whether Britt Reid, 35, would make the trip.The team statement provided no details other than confirming that Reid had been involved in a crash.“We are in the process of gathering information, and we will have no further comment at this time,” the statement said.In response to an inquiry about a possible accident involving Britt Reid, a spokesman for the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department said that a crash had occurred on Interstate 435, which is not far from the Chiefs’ training facility. But the spokesman would not provide more details or identify anyone who was involved the crash, citing a Missouri law that prohibits the police from releasing the names of people who have not been charged with a crime.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More