Tom Brady’s Lombardi Trophy boat throw that went viral Wednesday didn’t go over well with one Fort Myers, Fla., woman, who said the toss was an insult to her family’s legacy.
“It just upset me that this trophy was disgraced and disrespected by being thrown as if it was a real football,” Lorraine Grohs told Fox4.
During the Buccaneers’ boat parade on the Hillsborough River to celebrate Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl 2021 victory over the Chiefs, the 43-year-old quarterback tossed the Lombardi Trophy from his yacht to someone on another boat.
That upset Grohs, who is the daughter of Greg Grohs, the master silversmith at Tiffany and Company from 1967 to 1994 who crafted the first Vince Lombardi Trophy.
She said the seven-time Super Bowl champion disrespected the trophy and the people who work on it.
“I have a big history of this trophy being made by my father and it’s such an honor and I know all the craftsmen that made it when my dad was there also at Tiffany’s and it takes a lot of hard work,” Grohs said.
Now, Grohs wants Brady to say he’s sorry.
“I personally would like an apology, not just to me and my family and the other silversmiths but to the fans, all the football fans the other team players,” she said.
Groh told the network that Brady’s trophy toss made her so upset that she spent sleepless nights over the fact he treated the passion her father put into the trophy so lightly.
“I’ve seen this trophy being made at the factory at Tiffany’s and it’s a beautiful trophy,” Grohs said. “My father had to chisel the seams. He had to chisel the seams by hand. There is a newspaper article that shows him working on that trophy. The ball is hand-formed and the base is as well.”
Grohs, who said she isn’t a big football fan, always waits for the end of the Super Bowl so she can watch the Lombardi Trophy celebration that goes to the winner.
“I only watch the game to watch the trophy come out,” she said. “I like to see all the owners and the football players just hold it up with such pride and hold it up and show everybody and I get goosebumps. … Like right now I’m getting goosebumps.”
Brady also drew more attention when he needed help from an escort to walk as he made his way back onto land following the boozy boat parade.
But it looks like Brady is done with his partying and ready to get back to work.
On Saturday, he was back working out with trainer Alex Guerrero, according to a photo posted by TB12 Sports on Twitter. It included the hashtag #EyesOn8.