Tom Brady defends personal trainer amid criticism of Bill Belichick

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady came to the defense of Alex Guerrero on Thursday after his longtime personal trainer criticized Bill Belichick.

Guerrero made the remarks in an interview with the Boston Herald, saying the legendary head coach "never evolved" and treated older players like they were still young. Guerrero criticized  the Patriots coach less than two weeks before Brady faces his former team in New England.

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Brady was asked about Guerrero’s comments to the newspaper.

"I have great respect and admiration for my time there," Brady said, via ESPN. "I had 20 great years there. I kinda spoke that the last 18 months. It was a great time in my life. But I’m really happy to be here. And I think we’ve done some great things in a short period of time.

"I really love the teammates that I have that I’m playing with here. I love the players, love the coaches. The organization’s been amazing. Again, it’s just a lot of gratitude for me. Everybody has protective feelings and emotions as friends and family members. That’s just part of being in sports. A lot of people who — because they’re not out there — they want to protect, and it’s a very caring, loving thing that people do.

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"But from my standpoint, I had a great time," Brady added. "But really my focus has been trying to be the best I can be for this team, trying to go out and be a winning quarterback, to be a championship-level quarterback for this team and this organization because they certainly deserve it. I made a commitment to them, and I want to live up to it."

In an interview with the Boston Herald, Guerrero said the way Belichick treated players was consistent through the time Brady was there, and it didn’t exactly fit what the future Hall of Fame quarterback needed.

"I think, in time, with Tom, as Tom got into his late 30s or early 40s, I think Bill was still trying to treat him like that 20-year-old kid that he drafted. And all the players, I think, realized Tom was different," Guerrero explained. "He’s older, so he should be treated differently. And all the players, none of them would have cared that he was treated differently. I think that was such a Bill thing. He never evolved. So you can’t treat someone who’s in his 40s like they’re 20. It doesn’t work."

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Brady and Guerrero have worked on the "TB12 method," an approach to health and wellness the seven-time Super Bowl champion has credited for allowing him to play in the NFL as long as he has.

Guerrero has had at least one past run-in with the Patriots. In 2017, Belichick stripped the trainer of his team privileges, and he was reportedly banned from the team plane and only allowed to treat Brady.

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.