Officially, the Patriots were gracious toward NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after winning Super Bowl LI, with owner Robert Kraft, coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady all shaking Goodell’s hand and treating him respectfully.
Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia took a different approach.
Patricia wore a shirt portraying Goodell as a clown on the team flight home and was seen by journalists and fans getting off the plane with the Goodell clown shirt on.
The shirt is sold by Barstool Sports, which was banned from Super Bowl week activities by the league office in a move Goodell said he knew nothing about.
The move may not be the kind of thing that would endear Patricia to other NFL owners if he’s ever hoping to become a head-coaching candidate in some other city some day. But it certainly will endear him to fans in New England, where many agree with the shirt’s sentiment that Goodell is a clown.