Tom Brady has issued another groveling apology to the family of former MLB player and analyst Tim McCarver after he mistakenly paid tribute to him three years after his death.
In his weekly newsletter earlier this month, Brady wrote a tribute to World Series winner McCarver as though he had just passed away. But, in reality, the former Fox analyst died in February 2023.
‘The great Tim McCarver passed away last week,’ Brady wrote in his newsletter. ‘Tim had my job for FOX – lead analyst – from 1996 to 2013, but on the baseball side. Tim called more than 20 World Series in his career. He was fantastic at his job. Insightful, analytical, passionate, and immensely likable.
‘As I prepare for my second off-season self-scout as a broadcaster, I’ve been thinking a lot this past week about the more intangible qualities of greatness and leadership. One of them, which I call “likability”, came right back to the front of my mind with Tim McCarver’s passing.’
Just 35 minutes after Brady’s newsletter was sent out to its subscribers, a follow-up quickly appeared confirming McCarver’s death in February 2023. It called the humiliating error a ‘proofreading mistake’.
But now the seven-time Super Bowl winner has doubled down on his apology and started his latest newsletter with acknowledgement of his error.
Tom Brady has issued another apology to the family of ex-MLB star and analyst Tim McCarver
Brady wrote a tribute to McCarver this month as though he had just passed away. But, in reality, the former Fox analyst died in February 2023.
He wrote on Tuesday: ‘Before we get into this week’s newsletter, I want to take a moment to once again apologize to the McCarver family and all of Tim’s friends and colleagues for the error in the last newsletter referencing his passing as if it had just occurred.
‘I had been reflecting on the anniversary of Tim’s passing when I first began to write what became last week’s newsletter, and through the editing and proofreading process, that key phrasing got cut and changed, and then wasn’t caught in time. I feel badly about it, still.
‘All of that said, there are no excuses. I built my career on doing the work, being prepared, executing at the highest level, and when we fall short, taking responsibility, learning from the mistakes, and doing better next time.
‘That was true on the field, it’s true in the booth, and it’s true for this newsletter. We’re not perfect, but we’ll always do our best.’
McCarver was an All-Star catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster who won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals.
He went on to call 24 World Series for ABC, CBS and Fox, forging an iconic 18-year partnership with Joe Buck at Fox.
McCarver is survived by his daughters Kathy and Kelley, and grandchildren Leigh and Beau.
It has been a busy offseason for Brady, who was part of the group of NFL stars humbled by Team USA’s flag football stars last weekend.
Brady was part of the group of NFL stars humbled by Team USA’s flag football stars last week
Brady turned back the clock in his flag football performances in Los Angeles but his Founders FFC team lost both of their round robin games.
However, to start the second game, the 48-year-old shook off a pass rusher and then found receiver Stefon Diggs in the back corner of the end zone for his first points of the day.
Then Brady found his longtime Patriots and Buccaneers teammate Rob Gronkowski on the ensuing two-point conversion.
The event was originally scheduled to take place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but was relocated to BMO Stadium in Los Angeles because of the Iran war.
The former New England Patriots legend is also juggling the Las Vegas Raiders’ rebuild as the NFL draft approaches. The Raiders are expected to take Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick.