Buster
Massachusetts AG Sent Cops To Blogger’s Home Over Naked Photo Of Tom Brady’s Son
The Massachusetts Attorney General dispatched detectives to the home of a sports blogger to request the deletion of a post that included a naked photo of the 20-month-old son of NFL star Tom Brady.
It is unclear why Attorney General Martha Coakley sought to have the photo removed from barstoolsports.com, which is run by Dave Portnoy. In a statement, a Coakley spokesperson noted that, “We asked Mr. Portnoy to remove the postings and appreciate that he voluntarily chose to do so.”
The request was delivered to the 34-year-old Portnoy by a pair of detectives who showed up at his Milton apartment late Friday afternoon. While the cops told the blogger that the AG’s office had received complaints about the Brady post, they did not specify the number (or source) of those complaints. Nor did the detectives actually say Portnoy had committed a crime, or that he was the subject of a criminal investigation.
It is not hard to imagine, of course, that the sources of those “complaints” included the New England Patriots quarterback and/or NFL brass.
The AG’s press statement did not address whether Coakley & Co. considered the posting a criminal offense. Though her office’s contention that, “no further action is pending,” is an indication that no crime was committed. Additionally, the question of why the state’s top law enforcement officer is policing matters of taste/journalistic propriety in the blogosphere is not addressed.
The photo in question showed the boy (with his mother Gisele Bundchen) on a Costa Rica beach. Portnoy’s post included a comment about the size of the child’s penis. Portnoy has been widely criticized for the post by Boston sports fans and has been barred from future appearances on WEEI, a popular sports radio station.
Photos of the unclothed Brady boy can still be found on various celebrity web sites.