March 01, 2019
Philadelphia was ecstatic when homegrown hip-hop artist Meek Mill was released from prison last year.
We'd just prefer if maybe he didn't get all publicly warm and fuzzy about Tom Brady.
Meek Mill's incarceration became a symbol of the need for criminal justice reform in the United States. As his months in prison wore on, many local athletes and fellow Philadelphians united around his cause.
Mill's song "Dreams and Nightmare" became the anthem for the Eagles' Super Bowl season. He literally rang the bell at a Sixers game on the night that he was released from prison.
Yes, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft — now in hot water of his own — was instrumental in supporting and advocating for Meek Mill during his time in prison. They are even partners in a new organization dedicated to criminal justice reform.
It wasn't easy watching Meek Mill give Kraft a "Championships" chain after their Super Bowl victory in February. Or hearing the Patriots use his music for a hype video before it.
But is it so much to ask that Meek Mill not be giddy about Tom Brady?
The rapper was at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston on Friday and TMZ Sports got footage of his appearance. Basically, Meek Mill slid into Brady's DM's to congratulate the quarterback on his sixth Super Bowl title. Brady was complimentary in his response, to Meek's surprise.
"I didn't know Tom Brady knew who I was, I just took a shot, and he was like 'I seen you been through so much,'" Meek Mill said.
Brady apparently suggested Meek Mill's struggles in prison were more difficult, in some ways, than winning a Super Bowl.
The true test here will come if the Sixers play the Celtics at some point in the NBA playoffs. We can only hope it will be clear where Meek Mill's rooting interests lie.
