Tom Brady, a onetime spokesman for a Coca-Cola product, has called the brand "poison for kids."
The New England quarterback went on Boston's WEEI to speak in defense of trainer and business partner Alex Guerrero.
Brady and Guerrero are partners in a sports therapy center in Foxborough, Mass. TB12 offers health strategies developed by Brady and Guerrero. A profile in Boston Magazine labels Guerrero a "glorified snake-oil salesman" over claims that a supplement called Supreme Greens could cure cancer and a long list of other diseases before he was sued by the government.
In his chat Monday on the "Dennis & Callahan Morning Show," Brady threw out the Atlanta beverage company as an example of how images can be distorted:
"You probably go out and drink Coca-Cola and think, 'Oh yeah, that's no problem.' Why, because they pay lots of money for advertisements that think that you should drink Coca-Cola for a living? No. I totally disagree with that. And when people do that, I think that's quackery. And just the fact that they can sell that to kids? That's poison for kids," Brady said.
It should be noted that in 2007 Brady became a paid spokesman for Coca-Cola's Glaceau Smartwater.
Following his remarks, Coca-Cola issued a statement that in part stated, "We offer more than 200 low‐ and no‐calorie beverages in the U.S. and Canada and a wide variety of smaller portion sizes of our regular drinks."
The spokesman also offered "all of our beverages are safe and can be enjoyed as part of a balanced lifestyle."
Brady's offseason was marred in controversy over accusations he had knowledge that the footballs used in games were underinflated. He went to court to challenge a four-game suspension issued by the NFL and won. With Brady under center, the Patriots are 4-0 and face the Indianapolis Colts Sunday night.
