ATLANTA — Freshly into his new gig at Delta Air Lines, NFL legend Tom Brady surprised breast cancer survivors and fighters at the Atlanta airport on Monday.
Brady came out to a rousing applause after company-CEO Ed Bastian shocked Delta employees both battling breast cancer and those who beat it. The surprise came before they took a flight to Salt Lake City on the airline’s special plane entitled “Breast Cancer One.”
The former quarterback, who many consider as the NFL’s greatest player, recently partnered up with Delta in a strategic adviser role where he will work with employees, customers and impacted communities for Delta’s “Keep Climbing” initiative.
At the Delta Pink event on Monday, Brady talked about his mother’s fight with breast cancer — and how she is now seven years in remission. The room filled with cheer for his mother’s accomplishment.
“(I came here) to tell you that you guys have inspired a lot of people through your bravery, through your courage, through your resilience and fighting a very difficult disease,” Brady said. “And this is a great celebration of us all being here because it’s affected a lot of us in a lot of different ways — certainly you guys. Personally, my mother is seven years in remission from breast cancer.”
Brady emphasized the importance of survival and empowerment of brave women fighting the disease.
"It's taught us an awful lot about what family is about, what community is about, what support and unconditional love is about and certainly gratitude," Brady said. "And to show up every day like you guys have -- to continue to fight, to continue to encourage others."
You can hear everything Tom Brady had to say below:
(You can view a gallery of the event below the video)