Tom Brady can be defined by this one word

Tom Brady makes retirement official Sportscaster Jim Gray joins 'America's Newsroom' to reflect on the career of Tom Brady what's next for the seven-time Super Bowl champion.

I’ve spent exactly 25 seconds in the company of Tom Brady, during a grip-and-grin moment at a Tony Robbins event. He and his then Patriots teammate and receiver Julian Edelman were posing for photos with gobsmacked attendees.  My twin 14-year-old sons and I were waiting our turn.

When we stepped up for the photo, Brady unconsciously put his arm around the shoulders of one of my sons. To me, the gesture spoke volumes about who Tom Brady really is.

TOM BRADY MAKES IT OFFICIAL, RETIRES FROM NFL AFTER 22 YEARS

A lot of fans despise Brady, perhaps because he’s so successful, and in our society, we love to tear down those who excel. Some fans of other teams hold grudges against Brady because he beat them again and again. Others see him as a cheater and a fraud (witness Spygate and Deflategate).

I’m not going to relitigate those issues; I will say that most people with real knowledge of the Patriots’ two "scandals" agree that Brady had nothing to do with either.

FILE – Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) holds the Vince Lombardi trophy following the NFL Super Bowl 55 football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. Tampa Bay won 31-9. (Ben Liebenberg via AP)

To me, Brady is a well-raised individual who holds himself and those around him to higher standards than most of us would ever hold ourselves. His success is a function of those high standards, not just good genes or good coaching or good looks or good luck. Tom Brady is simply better at football than most of us are at whatever we do, because he expects