New England Patriots legend Tom Brady is scheduled to be honored by the team at the 2023 home opener in September.
But should the Commonwealth of Massachusetts also do something to recognize the man who helped bring six Super Bowl trophies to the state? Gov. Maura Healey was asked that question during an appearance on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" on Friday morning. And while she stopped short of saying what she thinks should be done, she was supportive of the idea.
"I'd love to, absolutely," Healey said when asked by Hill about honoring the quarterback. "I mean, what a run... That really set the tone, the environment, for all the other sports teams (in Boston). Winning breeds winning, success breeds success. What Tom Brady did, how he contributed, when you look back, what really impresses me, it's not just his discipline, it's that he brought this humility and selflessness."
"So yeah, we should figure out something. I'm sure there are others with great ideas for what should happen. I think it's a terrific idea, in the same way we've honored so many other sports heroes."
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Healey, the former captain of the Harvard women's basketball team who played professionally overseas, was also asked for her thoughts on the Boston Celtics' recently-concluded season, including whether she thinks Joe Mazzulla should return as head coach.
"I think I, like everybody in the region, was really bummed. We all had big expectations," she said. "It's not the way we wanted to see things go or see things end. I hope they regroup, do what they need to do to get the pieces in place and come back and deliver next year."
As for the coach, Healey said "that's going to be the call of management," but acknowledged that Mazzulla was put in a very difficult position.
"I think the key is to get him the support he needs if he's gonna stay," she said. "They've gotta do some work in terms of getting people to play together, the discipline, too many turnovers... In my view they need someone to bring discipline and enforce that when dealing with athletes with multimillion dollar contracts. It's an important dynamic and an important piece to the puzzle. It's not just the talent on the floor."
