Paternity test--updated version

The Complicated Mr. Patrick--updated!

Brady's sexcapades top Globe; all hell breaks loose

6 Comments

• O-FISH-L said:

  Adam, I was again ready to pounce on your post as ridiculous, but you raise a good point. I'm still not convinced on the racist angle, but the link to the S.I. article and the epidemic of athletes fathering babies out of wedlock definitely deserves mention in Brady's case. That said, these cases deserve to be categorized. Shawn Kemp has seven out of wedlock kids, Brady potentially has one. Brady was in a three year relationship with his baby's mother, it's hard to believe these "serial fathers" can say the same. Nevertheless, in the grand epidemic of athletes impregnating without marrying, Brady appears guilty as charged. The media is guilty too, by not mentioning Brady as part of that epidemic.
  February 21, 2007 5:03 AM

• Rick in Duxbury said:

  Unfortunately, this will probably not serve as an object lesson for young men who are unaware they have been targeted as a prospective daddy. Brady is apparently willing and able to support his child, unlike many teen fathers who feel bamboozled by girls attempting to empower themselves the only way they know how. Ms. Moynihan, it seems, would not take "no" for an answer. Perhaps this will provoke a discussion about reaching agreement on what constitutes a loud ticking of the biological clock.
  February 21, 2007 1:02 PM

• jvwalt said:

  The most apt comparison is not Brady/TO or Brady/Irvin; it's Brady and a black athlete with a strongly positive image. Donovan McNabb, for instance. If McNabb were to father a child under similiar circumstances, it would likely do more harm to his image than it apparently will to Brady's. McNabb would be lumped in with the irresponsible Baby Daddies detailed in that SI story, whereas a lot of people (Callahan at the top of the list) seem inclined to make excuses for Brady. As for Rick in Duxbury... come on, now. You have no idea how this conception came about. You cannot possibly know whether Moynihan "bamboozled" Brady into fathering a child. And the idea of women, on a massive scale, tricking men into being fathers is just plain ridiculous. Pregnancy is a huge deal -- physically, emotionally, socially, financially. It changes the course of a woman's life; more often than not, for the worse. Early/unplanned pregnancy is one of the highest risk factors for lifelong poverty. In the vast majority of unplanned pregnancies, the woman fares far worse than the man.
  February 21, 2007 3:28 PM

• Rick in Duxbury said:

  Which makes it all the more tragic and ironic that this planned pregnancy will be held out as a model. I have a pretty good idea how this conception "came about", (how many ways are there?) Either he knew she was expecting or not when he ended the relationship. For these people to be together for 3 years without a discussion about this eventuality is a stretch. (Ask any social worker about the young girls who get "baby fever" to the point that they only worry about niceties like financial support and paternal involvement AFTER the birth. Not as bad as it used to be but one case is too much.)
  February 21, 2007 6:07 PM

• AnonyMouse said:

  Dude will be someone's baby's daddy before the summer's out. No matter how you guys try to sugarcoat it or conveniently gloss over it with your hero/All American/bluebred Irishman stuff...Tom and the other white guy, Leinert, can get in line with all the other Black AND Latino athletes that pull this crap and get raked over the coals.
  February 21, 2007 7:18 PM

• Fanning said:

  Yes the story is covered differently than if Michael Irvin or TO's ex girlfriend was pregnant -- their reputations have already been tainted to say the least. Also they're wide receivers not quarterbacks. But you insist the big difference is the color of their skin -- no way. Get over it. Michael Jordan's messy divorce and his gambling problems are probably better comparisons. Those stories were covered more like this one: a hero faces off the court difficulties.
  February 22, 2007 3:23 AM

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