Bloodied Tom Brady Berates Referee and Gets Flagged for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

At 44 years old, with seven Super Bowl rings and a chock full line of statistics, there aren’t many firsts left in Tom Brady’s career. But the legendary quarterback did find one new first Sunday afternoon.

During the Tampa Bay Buccaneers surprising loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Brady was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. It was the first time in Brady’s more than two-decade-long career that he was flagged for the 15-yard penalty.

Ironically, the flag came just days after Brady admitted he probably should be called for more unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

“They probably let me get away with a lot of unsportsmanlike conducts, talking smack to the other team and talking smack to the refs when I don’t think I get the right call,” Brady said on his weekly SiriusXM Radio show. “I’m kind of a pain in their ass, in case you don’t already know that.”

Apparently, NFL official Shawn Hochuli heard Brady’s plea. After suffering a bloody lip on a hit from Rams linebacker Von Miller, Brady turned to Hochuli and berated the NFL ref for not throwing a roughing the passer flag.

Hochuli heard Brady’s argument and decided to throw a flag, but it was for the quarterback, not Miller. After the game, Hochuli defended his decision to give Brady the first unsportsmanlike penalty of his 22-year career.

“He got in my face in an aggressive manner and used abusive language,” Hochuli said. “As for the hit, we did not think that it rose to the level of roughing the passer.”

It was the first unsportsmanlike penalty of Brady’s career and it remains possible that it will be his last. After getting knocked out of the playoffs Sunday afternoon, Brady has been non-committal about whether he’ll return for a third season with Tampa Bay or retire from the NFL.

Watch above via NBC