Feb. 13 (UPI) — Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has a theory about why NFL defenses find it tough to play against Tom Brady: his mesmerizing eyes.
Barkley spoke about Brady during an appearance Tuesday on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The NBA legend considers himself a friend of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. Belichick invited Barkley to a team practice before Super Bowl LIII last week in Atlanta.
Barkley spoke to several members of the Patriots before running into Brady.
“I was having a great time … but then I made a mistake,” Barkley told Kimmel. “I looked Tom Brady in the eyes.”
“Tom Brady is like right here and I look him in the eyes and I said ‘damn, you’re a pretty man.’ That’s what I was thinking to myself.”
Barkley said he got embarrassed and turned his head in the opposite direction when talking to Brady.
“I see why he scores all of them touchdowns, because the defenders are looking at his eyes,” Barkley said. “They get mesmerized. That Tom Brady is a pretty man.”
The well-known gambler also called himself stupid for picking the Los Angeles Rams against the spread in the Super Bowl LIII against the Patriots.
Barkley and Kimmel agreed about Brady’s handsomeness before moving on with their conversation. The 55-year-old former basketball star became friends with Belichick in the early 1990s, when the future Hall of Fame coach was in charge of the Cleveland Browns.
Brady, 41, completed 21-of-35 passes for 262 yards and an interception in the Patriots’ win Feb. 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The victory gave Brady a record sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Brady is slated to return to the Patriots for a 20th season.