Rob Gronkowski may be retired from the NFL, but he and his Frenchie pup Ralphie were the MVPs of Congress as it returned from summer recess this week. The former Patriots and Buccaneers tight end even fueled some speculation that he’d seek to join the esteemed body down the road.
Gronkowski took the Hill with bipartisan acclaim, bringing his talents to the nation’s capital to push Congress to #squashsuperbugs, like Valley fever. Gronk took up this new cause shortly after adopting Ralphie (and also shortly after he won his fourth Super Bowl).
Gronk came to Capitol Hill the day after the NFL’s first week concluded — and his presence after his New England Patriots fell just short against the Philadelphia Eagles had many wishing that he’d come out of retirement for at least one more season.
“We could have used him on Sunday,” Representative Jim McGovern said.
I asked Gronk what advice he’d give to New England’s current crop of tight ends. “Be a beast, be a fucking beast,” he suggested to Hunter Henry, Mike Gesicki and Pharaoh Brown — the Patriots’ tight end trio.
Yet in the biggest news of the day, Gronk told me that he may very well run for office — although which one remains up in the air. He now identifies as a Florida man, and when I asked if he’d consider a run for office, he told me his answer is “not a no.”
While Gronk may go the federal or state route (or both!), he had no shortage of fans from both parties hanging on his every word. Democrats such as McGovern and Republicans such as Claudia Tenney, who represents the district right next to Gronk’s native Buffalo, David Schweikert, who represents the state Gronk chose for college (Arizona), and Lori Chavez DeRemer, who could be a future Patriots fan, all had glowing things to say about the star.
Tenney, well-known in DC for her love of animals, had a particularly great time playing with Ralphie, who tore a White Claw chew toy to shreds, leaving utter devastation in his wake. Like father, like son!
