Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s wife Gisele Bundchen was a guest on CBS This Morning on Wednesday and told Charlie Rose during an interview that her husband suffered a concussion during the 2016 season.
That came as new information since Brady didn’t miss a game due to a concussion last year and never spent time in the concussion protocol, which may be because Brady never told anyone from the team or its medical staff about symptoms he was experiencing. The NFL issued a statement regarding Bundchen’s revelation on Wednesday afternoon.
“We have reviewed all reports relating to Tom Brady from the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultants and certified athletic trainer spotters who worked at Patriots’ home and away 2016 season games as well as club injury reports that were sent to the league office,” the statement reads. “There are no records that indicate that Mr. Brady suffered a head injury or concussion, or exhibited or complained of concussion symptoms. Today we have been in contact with the NFLPA and will work together to gather more information from the club’s medical staff and Mr. Brady. The health and safety of our players is our foremost priority and we want to ensure that all our players have and continue to receive the best care possible.”
The NFL has spent a lot of time setting up protocols for identifying players who have suffered concussions during games and treating those injuries in the days that follow in recent years. A player who is able to keep symptoms from being readily apparent to others is something that can’t be accounted for in those protocols and it’s difficult to imagine how they’d be able to come up with one that could account for such situations happening in the future.