Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu says that Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady called him a name during Super Bowl LV in a now-deleted tweet.
Mathieu was seen sticking his finger in Brady’s face moments after the seven-time Super Bowl champ threw a touchdown during the game, leaving fans wondering what the tension was about. Mathieu took to Twitter to say that Brady had called him a name that “he won’t repeat.” He also stated that he had shown Brady “nothing but respect” when speaking of him in the past. He deleted his tweet without elaborating further, though a screenshot of it was taken and circulated on social media.
The two NFL stars exchanged words several times during the first half. After Mathieu stuck his finger in Brady’s face, Brady proceeded to chase him. Mathieu was given a 15-yard penalty because of this, while Brady was not.
Mathieu also tweeted about the hypocrisy of that call but deleted the tweet as well.
During his postgame zoom interview, Mathieu shrugged off the incident.
“It’s football. Guys are going to go back and forth.”
Brady has not publicly commented on what he said that set Mathieu off. However, sources told ESPN that Brady apologized to him in a text message after the game.
