Tom Brady calls first career unsportsmanlike penalty 'comical': 'Are you kidding me?'

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has had an admitted tendency over the years to lash out at officials. 

In the second quarter of Tampa's loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC divisional playoff round, Brady again went at the officials when he felt Rams linebacker Von Miller should have called for roughing the passer.

Brady instead was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and referee Shawn Hochuli said the seven-time Super Bowl champion used abusive language toward him. It was the first time Brady has been flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct in his storied 22-year career. 

OPINION:What's next for Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers? Why legacy questions might guide QBs' decisions

NFL'S 22 GREATEST PLAYOFF GAMES:Where does Bills-Chiefs instant classic rank?

NFL DRAFT HUB: Latest NFL Draft mock drafts, news, live picks, grades and analysis.

COACHING CAROUSEL:Ranking all nine vacancies from best to worst

Brady disagreed with Hochuli's assessment of the play. 

“If I feel like they miss a call, I want to let the guy know,” Brady said on the Let’s Go! podcast. “And I’ve done that literally a thousand times over the course of my career and never got called. In this instance, before I could realize it, the flag was thrown. And I was looking at the guy like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I didn’t cuss, I didn’t do any of those things."

Cameras showed Brady with a bloody lip after the hit by Miller and letting Hochuli have it by getting in his face. 

“I obviously felt like I got hit on the chin, and I felt like he missed in the end a clear penalty,” Brady said. “So I screamed at him to throw the flag, and he did. But I guess I need to be more specific with who he needs to throw the flag on. So I’ve got a nice bruise under my chin. . . . It is the first time in 22 years to get flagged. That was pretty comical to me.”