Everybody associated with the New England Patriots over the past few years likely have issues with Roger Goodell since the deflategate controversy.
Rob Gronkowski was on that team, but his below story has less to do with his perceived dislike for the commissioner, and more about him not knowing who was actually calling his phone.
When Roger Goodell called the former Patriots tight end to inform him that he had been selected to the NFL 100 team, Gronkowski didn’t recognize the number, so he didn’t answer.
It only got worse from there, as transcribed by CBS Boston:
“So I get a phone call from New York, and it’s no caller ID. And I’m just sitting there, like, ‘Man, I don’t want to answer this phone call.’ Like, I don’t want to answer it. But you know, I’m bored, I’m sitting there debating, and so I don’t answer.
So then it calls back again, and I’m like, ‘Aw, I’ll answer it, whatever. I’m gonna mess around. Let me mess around with this phone call.’
So I answer it and I’m like, [high-pitch] ‘Hellooooooo? Hellooooooooo? Who is this?’
‘Hey, Rob, uh, this is Roger Goodell. This is Roger Goodell, is this Rob Gronkowski?’
And I was like [high-pitch] ‘Hellooooooo? Helloooooo?’ And I’m just thinking like, man, this is why I don’t answer. People are pranking me. People prank me.
‘Rob. This is Roger Goodell. I’m looking for Rob Gronkowski.’
‘Yeah helloooooooo? Hellloooooooo?’
‘Is Rob Gronkowski there?’
‘Helloooooooooo?’
And then I just hang up. I’m like, ‘Yeah, they’re not getting me.’
So then like two days later, the phone call, it comes back again. And I’m sitting there like yeah, no way. I’m not answering. That’s definitely not him. Like he would have left me a message on the other two phone calls I didn’t answer.
So later that day then, he calls again – I mean, the number calls again. And then this time they leave a voicemail, and I was like, OK, finally they leave a voicemail. And I listened to the voicemail and it ends up being Roger Goodell again. ‘Hey Rob, it’s Roger Goodell. Just looking for you. I’m not sure if this is the right number or not.’ That’s what he says. ‘And I just wanted to congratulate you, man, you have made the top 100 players of all time.’
And I’m just sitting there like man, I’m not sure. But when I did hang up the first time, I was thinking in my head like, it kind of sounded like him. But that was classic. But I go, if it was him, he’ll find a way to contact me another way.
To make this story shorter, it ended up being him.
I called the office back that he told me to call. I called him back and talked to him, and he didn’t bring up anything about that phone call. But when I see him, I can’t wait to bring it up. I’m gonna be like, ‘Yo, who did you think that was going, ‘Helllloooooooo? Who is this?’
Classic, Gronk!
