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In September 2015, a Boston sports reporter covering the New England Patriots noticed a Make America Great Again hat in Tom Brady‘s locker, stirring outrage that arguably the greatest quarterback of all time could actually be a fan of Donald Trump. The headlines exploded from there:
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CBS Sports: “Why does Tom Brady have a Donald Trump hat in his locker? QB explains”
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ABC News: “Yes, That’s a ‘Make America Great Again’ Hat in Tom Brady’s Locker”
Of course, if Brady had an “I’m With Her” Hillary Clinton hat in his locker, he wouldn’t be forced to explain. But here was Brady calmly explaining it unapologetically.
“Now that he’s running for president, he sent me a hat, and he gave it to RKK [Patriots owner Robert Kraft] weeks ago,” Brady said at the time. “So it found its way to my locker.”
“It’s pretty amazing what he’s been able to accomplish as an entrepreneur, as a television star, and now running for political office,” he added. “People who can do those types of things and transition into different arenas and still have that type of appeal and carry-over. … He’s obviously appealing to a lot of people. He’s a hell of a lot of fun to play golf with.”
Good for him. Brady’s support did not serve as a locker room problem with his teammates. He went on to win three more Super Bowls, totaling seven for the most of any player in league history.
Fast forward to May 2026, when Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart introduced Trump at a rally in Suffern, New York.
“What an honor, what a privilege it is to be here, and without further ado, I’m grateful, I’m honored to introduce the 45th and 47th president of the United States of America, President Donald J. Trump,” Dart said to cheers.
The backlash was almost immediate, sparked by teammate Abdul Carter immaturely running to social media to complain instead of picking up a phone and speaking to Dart directly.
“Thought this s*** was AI, what we doing man,” Carter posted. It has been viewed more than 22 million times since.
It should be noted that Carter once had the audacity to ask Lawrence Taylor, the greatest defensive player of all time, who won two Super Bowls with the Giants, if he could wear his jersey number before playing even one game in the NFL. Carter, of course, had nothing to say when Taylor spoke at Trump rallies in showing his support. He also hasn’t said a word about his new head coach, John Harbaugh, who also supports Trump.
Carter later shared that he and Dart were able to come to an understanding. But the dam had already broken at that point.
“As a lifelong, avid Giants fan, I am beyond disappointed & flat out angry @JaxsonDart has chosen to align himself with an unhinged, racist, criminal, lunatic destroying our democracy,” former Lincoln Project officer Tara Setmayer posted on X. “How is this going to go over with his teammates? This is a terrible look for the organization.”
Funny how career grifters such as Setmayer scream about saving democracy, only to simultaneously argue that a citizen such as Dart should not publicly support a guy who has won the presidency twice.
“We all have free speech rights,” NBC Sports analyst Mike Florio argued. “But we have the ability then to analyze how it may affect his life and the issues it may cause in the locker room among his teammates.”
But if that’s the rule, why hasn’t Florio criticized vocal Never Trumpers in the sports world for slamming Trump on a regular basis? Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Doc Rivers, Gregg Popovich, LeBron James, and Megan Rapinoe all have been loud in their disdain for Trump. But because they support Democrats, it’s not considered controversial.
Sports radio WFAN afternoon host Craig Carton in New York went even further, saying that because Dart made a short introduction of a sitting president who received more than 77 million votes in 2024, this may affect the team months from now when the season starts in September.
“If you come out of the gate 1-3 and you got seven picks and two touchdowns, it’s going to backfire on you, and the fans will turn on you,” Carton said.
What a ridiculous argument: Fans will turn on any quarterback who starts a season 1-3 and throws seven interceptions against two touchdowns. Trump has nothing to do with it. And it’s virtually guaranteed that if Dart introduced, say, Gavin Newsom or Kamala Harris at a rally, there wouldn’t be one peep of faux controversy surrounding it.
Over at ABC News, Joy Behar even went so far as to call Dart a racist for introducing Trump.
“When [Dart’s] on a team that’s 55% to 60% of the NFL … of black guys, that is just the definition of stupidity and racism,” she said to applause on The View.
Rapinoe, the women’s soccer player who once infamously declared that she would “not go to the f***ing White House” if her team won the World Cup during Trump’s first term, was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Joe Biden — at the White House. She was the first soccer player ever to be awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor.
If Dart ends up winning a Super Bowl while Trump is still in office, it would be the ultimate troll for him to award Dart with the same medal, wouldn’t it?
Born and raised in Utah before attending the University of Mississippi, it’s not exactly shocking that Dart backs Trump, as do an increasing number of young males, especially those who live in deep-red states.
We all have a right to free speech. Dart exercised his.
And the same people who warn that the First Amendment is under attack by this president are the same ones who want the quarterback to shut up.
Like Brady, here’s hoping he won’t.
