Patriots QB Tom Brady's relationship with Best Buddies has "changed in recent years," as the nonprofit dedicated to helping intellectually and developmentally disabled people has "become a major source of funding for Brady's own charitable goals," according to a front-page piece by Bob Hohler of the BOSTON GLOBE. Since '11, while Brady has "served as the face of its signature Massachusetts fund-raiser and helped it raise" nearly $20M, Best Buddies has paid $2.75M to Brady's own charitable trust and has pledged to grant the organization an additional $500,000 in '17 for a total of $3.25M. The payments, made at Brady's request, "support his Boston-based Change the World Foundation Trust, whose giving has focused almost entirely on causes tied to Brady's personal interests, including his high school alma mater, his children's private schools, and charities operated by his football friends." Aiding those with disabilities, the focus of Best Buddies, has been a "lower priority." Independent charity monitors said that there "appears to be nothing illegal about the arrangement -- charities can and do donate to other charities." But they "questioned why someone of Brady's wealth has taken large sums for his foundation from another charity that has its own priorities and needs." The donations from Best Buddies have been "by far the Brady organization's largest source of funds." Best Buddies Founder & Chair Anthony Shriver said that Brady had "volunteered his time and image to Best Buddies for many years before he told Shriver he was becoming very busy and wanted to focus on his own charitable foundation." Shriver said, "We have been able to provide services to tens of thousands of people because of Tom, while keeping him engaged and helping him pursue some of his own interests. It has been super beneficial to us and him." Shriver added, "He has done a lot for us, and I think we get more out of it than Change the World gets from us" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/23).
TWO SIDES TO THE STORY: THE MMQB's Peter King writes the optics of the Globe report are "bad." But there are a "couple of things to consider here." Brady has "chosen one charity to spend a weekend with every year since his star rose to prominence, and that is Best Buddies." Brady "draws a lot of attention to the cause each year by playing in a touch football game at Harvard and the next day riding in a Massachusetts bicycle race." The fact that Brady "spends this time in two major events draws participants willing to help Best Buddies with contributions." While this is a "messy look both for Best Buddies and Brady," if Best Buddies were without Brady's participation over the past 16 years, would it have raised even half of that $43.75M it has raised "not including what it's paid to Brady?" King: "I sincerely doubt it" (MMQB.SI.com, 4/24).
GLOBE-TROTTING: Some observers ripped the Globe for what they saw as biased reporting on both this story and their report on President Trump's relationship with Pats Owner Robert Kraft. WEEI's Kirk Minihane: "The Globe is all in today. If I'm the Patriots the days of playing grab-ass on Opening Day at Fenway are over. This is Henry vs. Kraft." HBO's Bill Simmons, in response to Minihane: "Henry v Kraft = fun theory. The Brady/charity 'report' was comically slanted against Brady - that's one of the strangest BGlobe reads ever. ... The way they presented it just wasn't balanced, I thought it was irresponsible." More Minihane: "It can be a legitimate story and hit job. Think the Globe would run a story if they knew Ortiz's charity did this?" WEEI's Mike Mutnansky: "Would believe The Globe started down the road of looking for Brady's Trump donations and ended up with the Best Buddies story."
