Rob Gronkowski's Father Has A History Of Saying Too Much About His Son

Poor Gordy Gronkowski. He's just so proud of all five of his sons, three of whom play in the NFL. But Gordy's really beating his chest these days over his boy Robbie, who, when he's not relaxing with porn stars, plays tight end for the New England Patriots. Old man Gordy gave an interview the other day to WIVB in Buffalo, near where Robbie grew up. The interview was the usual proud-parent tripe that's such a staple of local TV news: Gordy can't believe his son is playing in the Super Bowl, he can't believe he sees him everywhere when he turns on the TV, he can't believe The New York Times wrote that big story, etc.

Gordy was just so pleased to be talking about how pleased he is with his son's good fortune that he even answered the WIVB reporter's question about the injury Robbie sustained in the AFC title game. Off-camera, Gordy said his son has a high-ankle sprain. The remark went unnoticed until Comcast SportsNet New England got wind of it this morning, whereupon it was picked up by Florio's crew, who pointed out it violated the when it comes to disclosing Patriots players' injuries. Belichick's Machavellian logic dictates that Gordy Gronkowski just unwittingly gave the Giants an edge.

But this isn't the first time Gordy said something about Robbie he probably shouldn't have. In the summer of 2006, just before Robbie's senior year of high school, Gordy moved Robbie to suburban Pittsburgh. He talked to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette soon afterward:

Rob Gronkowski attended a combine at Pitt two years ago and got to meet some Woodland Hills players.

"Then we caught a couple of Woodland Hills games on TV in Buffalo," Gordon Gronkowski said. "There's just not the quality of football in the state of New York that there is here.

"We want him to play with good talent around him instead of getting triple-teamed. Here, he blends right in."

One problem: The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association has a rule prohibiting transfers for athletic reasons. That led to a hearing, at which Robbie was declared ineligible—a decision that was reversed on appeal a few days later, which meant Robbie could play after all. At the time, Gordy Gronkowski said what the Post-Gazette had done to him was "a setup." Which it always is when the media ask questions people are willing to answer.