Massachusetts Middle School Renames Itself "Tom Brady Middle School" For Today

SPRINGFIELD — Upon answering the phone at Forest Park Middle School on Thursday, staff do not refer to their school as so. Callers are told they’ve reached Tom Brady Middle School. The Springfield school was renamed as “Tom Brady Middle School” for the day, in honor of the New England Patriots season opener on Thursday, Sept. 10. The students and staff dressed in a sea of red, white and blue in honor of the event. Many sported jerseys bearing the name of the Patriots’ quarterback. The idea to rename the school came about after students met with Principal Tom Mazza. “They wanted to do something creative and fun,” he said. Together, Mazza and his students came up with the idea to honor the Patriot who Mazza joked is “the greatest American ever born.”

Great idea and hats off to Tom Brady Middle School. But I’m not congratulating them for the reason you’d think. I’m congratulating them for bringing the lack of Tom Brady middle schools to our attention, for starting a dialogue. It’s like when someone famous comes out of the closet, or whatever, and they say “I appreciate your kind words but I await the day this isn’t news.” Same here. I look forward to the day when a school renaming itself Tom Brady isn’t a big story, because it’s just accepted practice. I look forward to 50 years from now when we laugh at all the people who didn’t attend middle schools and drive over bridges or through tunnels named after the greatest American ever born. That’s the America I dream to live in. So this is a great first step in acceptance, but we’ve still got a long way to go.