Following a crushing loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday night, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady took his frustrations out on a Microsoft Surface tablet, throwing it away in what some are jokingly calling his best throw of the night. Microsoft has been the official provider of tablets for NFL teams since 2014, and the history of abuse targeted at these devices is almost as old.
Brady's actions are getting a lot of attention on the social media circuit because he's Tom Brady, but he's hardly the first NFL athlete to take his on-field frustrations out on Microsoft's laptops and tablets. Other notable Surface throwers include Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers, former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel, and even Brady's former boss at New England, Bill Belichick.
The Surface-throwing incident occurred Sunday night after Saints' Chauncey Gardner-Johnson intercepted Brady's pass in the fourth quarter, putting the exclamation mark on a 9-0 loss for Tampa. It was Brady's first shutout in fifteen years and his first overall with the Buccaneers. Interestingly, the Surface tablet already looked busted when Brady threw it, but it isn't immediately clear how it was damaged in the first place. Either way, this is unlikely to be the last time a Microsoft Surface tablet will breathe its last breath at an NFL venue, although the next time it happens with another player or coaching staff, it might not get as much attention as this incident. But then again, not every NFL athlete is a future Hall of Famer, and not every Hall of Famer is Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr.
Altercation With Saints' Coach Dennis Allen
Brady's fit of rage on Sunday night has spawned several reactions online, including from people who compared it with Bill Belichick's tablet toss. Others compared it to Packers QB Rodgers's actions, although Rodgers' tablet seemed functional when he threw it down. Some even made jokes about Brady possibly needing a new tablet for Christmas, while others proclaimed he had won a decisive battle against the Surface tablet.
Of course, the tablet abuse wasn't the only time Brady lost his temper Sunday night. During the fourth quarter of a thoroughly forgettable game for him where he completed 26 of his 48 passes for just 218 yards and threw two interceptions, Brady also had an altercation with Saints coach Dennis Allen, who was filling as head coach for Sean Payton. Brady later shrugged off the confrontation as "nothing, just football," but it was yet another indicator of exactly how frustrated Brady was with his and his team's performance on the night.