Rich people have weird hobbies, but it's still a surprise to learn that Terry Bradshaw spends
his free time flipping private jets for profit.
Fans and critics were less than happy with Bradshaw's behavior during the 2023 Super
Bowl postgame show.
Just moments after coach Andy Reid led the Kansas City Chiefs to his second Super Bowl
win, Bradshaw chose to emphasize Reid's weight rather than his accomplishments, calling him
"big guy" and saying,
"Come on, waddle over here."
To his credit, Reid was incredibly gracious and chose to ignore the comments, made at
mid-field and during the middle of a celebration.
But even as Reid lauded his players and gestured to the crowd for more cheers for his team,
Bradshaw told him,
"Have a cheeseburger on us."
Fans took to social media to blast Bradshaw for fat-shaming Reid in his moment of triumph,
and they weren't alone: USA Today called for Fox Sports to stop using Bradshaw as a sportscaster.
There are some comments that professional broadcasters seem like they'd be likely to
stay away from, just because, well, read the room.
In 2022, fans weren't thrilled with Terry Bradshaw's comments about Cardinals quarterback
Kyler Murray.
In the midst of discussing Arizona's tendency to ignore the running game, Bradshaw made
the remark on "Fox NFL Sunday."
"I think if this kid ran five or six runs in a row, I think he'd commit suicide or something."
Bradshaw's colleagues were none too thrilled with the comment, either, with Howie Long
and Curt Menefee jumping in to speak over him, and Michael Strahan dropping a very meme-able
look to the camera that clearly conveyed a message that he was not a part of any of that.
Reaction from fans and professionals were perhaps best summed up by a tweet from sports
journalist Lindsey Young, who simply said,
"Dear Terry Bradshaw, SUICIDE IS NOT A JOKE."
Bradshaw likes to joke around, but unfortunately many of his so-called jokes are followed with
apologies, because some things aren't funny.
And not just suicide: Bradshaw has also had to apologize more than once for racist remarks.
In 2012, Bradshaw issued an apology after making comments about Miami Dolphins running
back Reggie Bush running while showing highlights.
"Look at this, Jimmy!
Like he was chasing that bucket of chicken that the wind was blowing the other day!"
Bradshaw said that it was a slip of the tongue and that the comment was supposed to be directed
at his co-host Jimmy Johnson rather than Bush.
He said,
"I can't defend myself.
I've never been in a situation like this.
I don't know how to react, except to apologize for something I didn't know I said.
I've been upset today.
It's not me.
I'm shocked."
In 2019 he had to apologize again for a quip gone horribly wrong, this time for comments
made about his time on "The Masked Singer," when he lamented,
"Unfortunately, I was kicked off by Alan Thicke and the little short guy from Japan."
Not only was Alan Thicke the deceased father of actual judge Robin Thicke, but Ken Jeong
is the Detroit-born son of South Korean immigrants.
Bradshaw said in his apology,
"I made an insensitive remark today about Ken, who I've known for some time.
I've spoken to him about the importance of cultural respect and apologized for my offensive
comments.
I would like to also apologize to the Asian-American community for my insensitivity."
In 2019, MarketWatch sat down to talk about investment strategies with Bradshaw, who revealed
that he has some very unusual business ideas.
Like, for instance, flipping planes.
Yes, in addition to his bourbon and his clothing line, he shared the fact that one of his favorite
ways to invest and make money was by buying and flipping planes
"I buy a lot of planes, I’ve owned a lot of jets.
You have to be smart when you buy one.
You have to use it for business.
Then I learned how to flip a plane.
I learned how long to use it and when you need to move it."
Bradshaw is so casual about his plane flipping that he actually bought a plane during the
interview.
"As a matter of fact, I just bought one while we were on the phone!
I have been at this a long time and jets don’t scare me at all.
You spend 4 or 5 million bucks and it might scare the heck out of you, but not me."
Bradshaw didn't just boast about the amount of money he spends, but also how much he loses,
explaining that he once lost $900,000 in a real estate deal.
He said he considered it a smart business decision, because he would have lost more
staying in the real estate game at the time.
Dallas Cowboys star Hollywood Henderson once described Bradshaw as "So dumb he couldn't
spell cat if you spotted him the 'c' and the 'a'."
And he's not only the one who has made disparaging comments about Bradshaw's intellect.
It's not uncommon to see headlines like the New York Post's "Is Terry Bradshaw really
this dumb?"
Plus, he had one of the most notoriously low scores on the NFL-administered Wonderlic test.
But here's the question: Does it get to him?
Yes.
Bradshaw admitted as much when he appeared on "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?."
"I do get upset by the dumb image.
I don't like it being brought up."
He went on to add that it bothered him that his Steelers coach, Chuck Noll, didn't do
more to defend him when he was a player.
"I think probably some of my anger and frustration with it is, I didn't get enough support.
I didn't feel like personally, I didn't get enough support from Pittsburgh."
With all of Bradshaw's many gaffes and controversies, it might be easy to dismiss him.
But what makes his legacy so hard to untangle is the fact that he has also said some smart
things too, while speaking truth to power.
In 2014, NFL player Greg Hardy was convicted on charges related to a domestic abuse incident
with his then-girlfriend, though the charges were later thrown out when she failed to appear
at his trial after reaching a settlement with him out of court.
An NFL investigation led to a 10-game suspension for Hardy from the NFL.
But when that too was reduced to 4 games, the Dallas Cowboys swooped in and signed him.
Bradshaw levied intense criticism at both Hardy and the league.
"Anybody, in my opinion, who lays a hand on a woman, I don't care who you are, my friend,
you never come back in this league."
He then called out Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, one of the most powerful people in the sport,
for prioritizing wins and losses above integrity, saying that by hiring Hardy, Jones had become
an enabler.
"I really, really, seriously hope that eventually, we never have a place in the NFL for people
that touch a woman, strike a woman."
"This is wrong.
We have no place for this, and I'm actually tired of talking about the Hardys of the world."
Jones was a part of the NFL's committee that oversaw all broadcasting, so speaking out
against him could have had serious repercussions for Bradshaw.
But Bradshaw told The Washington Post,
"I'm not one of their favorites, I'm not one of their boys.
I'm not afraid of being fired, and I'm gonna speak my mind."
It didn't go unnoticed, with national domestic violence organizations coming forward to applaud
him for taking a stand.
Bradshaw also put his reputation as a devout Christian on the line in 1980 when, at the
height of his popularity, the 31-year old quarterback agreed to an interview with Playboy.
Why?
Because he said he thought Jesus would want him to speak to the readers of Playboy to
give them an insight on how he lived his life.
Despite all the people calling Bradshaw dumb, interviewer Maury Levy found someone who was
anything but, describing him as one of the funniest, most philosophical, and down-to-earth
people he'd ever sat down with.
Bradshaw also had some heartbreaking insight into why he had gotten slapped with the label
of being not-so-bright early in his career, explaining he thought he was stereotyped due
to his way of life and his Louisiana accent.
He said,
"I was big and strong and fast and had blond hair and stood for Mom and apple pie, and
God bless America and I love God and I tote my Bible and I pray and I love Momma and Daddy.
I was too good to be true."
Though Bradshaw has often been his own worst enemy when it comes to his public gaffes,
many of the real difficulties in his life have been far outside his control.
Tragic losses don't give families a miss because they're public figures, and in 2021, Terry
Bradshaw and his wife, Tammy Bradshaw, spoke candidly during an episode of "The Bradshaw
Bunch" about the heartbreaking loss of Tammy's son, who died of an accidental overdose in
2009.
"The 525 Foundation was brought to my attention by my wife, who had lost her son.
We want to bring attention to the prescription drug problem."
In 2019, Terry told WNDU it was a cause close to the family:
"My wife... she lost her son.
He died on her living room floor.
[...] We have to constantly remind our children of the dangers of drugs."
The Bradshaw family lost another member in 2014.
Bradshaw's son-in-law, former Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas, died in a car accident.
Those who knew Bironas painted a picture to Sports Illustrated of the team comic, of a
player who started his own charity to support music education in schools, and who went out
of his way to direct the team's photographer to get candid snapshots of family members
in the stands.
He was later found to have had a blood alcohol level of .218 at the time of his death.
In 2022, Terry Bradshaw took time during a broadcast of "Fox NFL Sunday" to address the
questions that fans had been asking.
Social media had been buzzing with speculation as to the state of his health, and he revealed
that after being diagnosed and successfully treated for bladder cancer, he was then diagnosed
with a rare form of skin cancer just months later.
Bradshaw's first diagnosis came a full 11 months before he made it public; when he made
the announcement, he was cancer free.
A month after he shared his diagnosis, he sat down with Today to talk about why he'd
waited so long.
He said that not only did he wait to tell the public, but he had waited to tell his
family, too.
"I didn't talk about it because I didn't want pity.
I didn't talk about it because a lot of celebrities — unfortunately, I'm one of those — when
they say this, I think the perception around America with all the millions of people is,
'Aw, look at him.
Bless his heart.
He has cancer.
Well, my husband died of cancer.
My kids are...'
I didn't want that."
Finally, Bradshaw said that he finally came forward because angry fans were trashing him
on social media for appearing out of breath during a broadcast.
"Social media went, 'Get rid of him.
He needs to be off the air.
He's an embarrassment.'
And I was like, 'Embarrassment?
I got cancer.'"
It's taken a lot to open up a conversation about mental health, and admirably, Terry
Bradshaw went a long way in normalizing that dialogue.
In 2004, he told the Houston Chronicle that he'd had countless people approach him to
thank him for his candid honesty in admitting even the high points of his life were clouded
by sadness and anxiety.
"When the doctor told me, 'Terry, you're clinically depressed,' it was the happiest day of my
life.
It gave me an explanation for a lot of my actions.
[...] it helped me realize why I did certain things."
"I knew I had something wrong with me, and I sought help.
Medical help.
I went to the doctor, then had three years of therapy classes."
In his HBO special "Going Deep," he spent some time talking about his depression and
told Esquire that he was grateful that sharing had allowed him to help so many people.
"The depression thing, it's turning out to be kind of a legacy thing, you know?
For a lot of people.
[...] I'm glad of that.
I wish I didn't have it.
But I'm glad now."
Bradshaw has also spoken out about living with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder,
or ADHD.
When he spoke with ESPN's "Mike & Mike in the Morning," he said that it was still something
he dealt with on a daily basis.
When he agreed to do a stage show about his life, he said,
"It's a terrible combination, having ADD and having to sit down and study like this."