NFL news: Rob Gronkowski dishes on the impact politics has on locker rooms

As time has gone on, politics and sports have continued to merge more closely together in the cultural fabric.

NFL legend Rob Gronkowski played for 11 seasons, from 2010 to 2021, and said that as his career went on, there were more political discussions in the locker room. However, the New England Patriots great said they didn’t have a big impact on the team as many people perceived.

“I would say the conversations and awareness grew but it didn’t really make a significant impact like it wasn’t like skyrocketing like it that it seemed like on the outside. It wasn’t like that in the inside,” Gronkowski told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.

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Rob Gronkowski attends WrestleMania 42 Night 2 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 19, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)

The four-time Super Bowl champion said the team’s lone goal was to win games, and political discussions were not going to interfere with that.

“It’s not political in the locker room. We’re all together as one, and that’s what it’s all about. And that’s how I believe it should be all about, is that we have one purpose. It was to win games and it was to be the best football team,” Gronkowski said.

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The New England Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs in an AFC divisional playoff at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski gains yards after a catch in the first half. (Bob Breidenbach/The Providence Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end, who spoke to Fox News Digital on behalf of a recent partnership with eBay, discussed how football is a unifier because everyone’s accepted.

“The politics really never get in the way in the locker room and that’s a good thing and that’s what makes football so great, is that everyone’s accepted. No matter what your culture is, no matter what your political views are, and that’s why I love sports.” Gronkowski said.

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New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski gets a high five from head coach Bill Belichick after his third quarter touchdown against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014. (MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

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Gronkowski is one of the greatest tight ends of all time. He spent nine seasons with the Patriots before retiring in 2019. He came out of retirement in 2020 and played with the Buccaneers and Tom Brady for two seasons before retiring again.

In 11 seasons, the five-time Pro Bowler caught 621 receptions for 9,286 yards and 92 touchdowns.

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