Tom Brady's retirement on Wednesday marked the second consecutive year he made that major announcement on Feb. 1 -- the first day of Black History Month.
That date also marks the one-year anniversary of Steelers assistant Brian Flores' landmark discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and several teams over alleged racist hiring practices affecting Black head coaches and coaching candidates.
Brady was a key figure in the lawsuit, as Flores alleged that he had fallen out of favor and was ultimately fired by the Dolphins in part because he declined to get on board with a plan to bring a "prominent QB" to Miami.
It was later revealed that Brady was the prominent player in question, and the Dolphins were fined and docked draft picks for tampering, since Brady was still under contract with the Patriots, and later the Buccaneers, when the Dolphins had contacted him and his representatives.
In any event, the question remains why Brady chose Wednesday to make his announcement. After all, the Buccaneers' season ended on Jan. 16, after they were eliminated from the playoffs by the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round.
Already there are questions about when Brady's retirement video was actually recorded. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has suggested the video was pre-taped and released on Wednesday morning to coincide with the upcoming release of "80 for Brady." The movie premiered in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, with Brady making an appearance alongside stars Rita Moreno, Lilly Tomlin, Sally Field and Jane Fonda.
On social media, countless users noted the curious timing of Brady's announcement upstaging the first day of Black History Month.
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