The GOAT debate in all sports will forever live on, and while opinions are subjective, folks say some of the wildest things in an effort to make their argument stand. One hot candidate over the years has been future first ballot Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady, who won an NFL-record seven Super Bowls during his 23-year NFL career. Hall of Fame running back O.J Simpson isn’t buying Brady in the role, and Simpson let this be known in a recent Twitter post on July 4th.
“In my case, from my opinion, I think running and jumping really defines an athlete. I’m not call Tom Brady the greatest athlete of all-time despite seven Super Bowls. Greatest quarterback of all-time maybe, certainly not the greatest athlete. To me, the greatest athlete that I saw was Carl Lewis.”
Carl Lewis is arguably the greatest American sprinter in Olympic history, along with Jesse Owens. Lewis won 10 Olympic medals (nine gold), across four Olympic Games from 1984-96. Lewis, who also competed in the long jump, won 10 medals (eight gold) in the World Championships as well.
LeBron Refused To Call Brady The Greatest Athlete In 2017
While Simpson is the latest to refuse to utter the words Tom Brady is the GOAT athlete, he’s far from the first. In 2017, none other than LeBron James did the same thing, pretty much saying the same thing that Simpson relayed.
During an episode of his hit show “The Shop,” James said he probably wouldn’t consider any NFL player as the GOAT of athletes.
“My only argument with a football player being the greatest athlete of all time is that they only gotta play one side of the floor, man,” James said. “Yes, Brady is unbelievable. Brays is the greatest quarterback I’ve ever seen, but he effects the game one way.”
James, a former high school football star himself, continued, “As physical as football is — and to the body, I know it’s crazy to the body — but for a quarterback, [Patriots coach Bill Belichick] has done a great job of implementing those five guys in front to protect the asset.”
“I’m not saying he’s not great. He’s the greatest football player of all time,” James said.
Too Many Greats To Pinpoint One
In sports, there have been just too many great athletes to pinpoint who’s the greatest athlete of all time. And again, even if we could it’s still all subjective, so let’s just enjoy the greats and thank them for the joy and entertainment they have brought us, and in many instances still are blessing us with.
