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Tom Brady Retires After 22 NFL Seasons, 7 Super Bowl Wins; Pfizer Could Ask FDA as Soon as Today to Authorize Vaccine for Children Under 5; Judge Rejects Plea Deal on Hate Crime Charges in Arbery Killing; Wave of Bomb Threats Target HBCUs. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired February 01, 2022 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[13:32:56]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Big breaking news in the sports world today. After 22 NFL seasons and seven Super Bowl wins, Tom Brady made it official, he is retiring.

The legendary quarterback made his announcement on social media this morning, writing, in part:

"I have always believed the sport of football is an all-in proposition. If a 100 percent competitive commitment isn't there, you won't succeed. Success is what I love so much about our game."

"There's a physical, mental and emotional challenge every single day that has allowed me to maximize my highest potential."

"I have tried my best these past 22 years. There are no shortcuts on the field or in life."

"This is difficult for me to write but here it goes: I am not going to make that competitive commitment anymore."

With us now, senior writer at ESPN, Seth Wickersham, who has covered Brady for years. He's the author of "It's Better to be Feared, The New England Patriots' Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness."

Seth, great to have you.

First, your reaction to his announcement?

SETH WICKERSHAM, SENIOR WRITER, ESPN & AUTHOR: I was surprised that it happened this morning but I wasn't surprised that it happened. Because anyone that's close to anybody in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

building or close to Brady's inner circle knew that, especially the last month and a half, things have been a little bit different.

I think that this year was more taxing than maybe he'll ever admit.

I think the commitment required to come back next year with a different roster and, to a certain extent, kind of starting over I think was going to be difficult.

And finally, I think that he's enjoying -- this year, for the first year, he really got into a lot of his off-field endeavors.

He started the Brady brand, his fitness line. And I think that he really likes the potential of what he might be able to do with that. Something that Michael Jordan did, where it might have the kind of global appeal.

So I think that that's the reason why this season was his final one.

And, man, he is retiring on top.

[13:34:59]

CABRERA: As a diehard Bronco fan myself, I always envision Brady at the helm with the New England Patriots, our fierce rivals.

And he didn't even mention the Patriots in their original -- that original statement he put out. Only later, thanking them a short time after on Twitter.

What do you make of that?

WICKERSHAM: Yes. I have no insight into that firsthand. But I seriously doubt that it was my accident that he forgot the Patriots.

But, yes, he left them out of his original Instagram post and then managed to include them in his Instagram story. So who knows?

CABRERA: He has almost a superhuman reputation.

But you write in your book about how his NFL career was almost over before it even began. That his dad had even prepared a consolation speech for draft day.

How could he go on to be that good for that long?

And as somebody who has studied this man, perhaps understands him better than most, what do you think is his secret?

WICKERSHAM: Well, number one, he's a more gifted athlete than people realize. He really has an unbelievable throwing arm. And his motivation is really second to none.

You know, he -- I think that with him, in particular -- there's very few people like this. But I think that the game was more than just a game for him.

It cut to something essential. I think that so much of his self- identity, maybe even self-esteem was wrapped up in playing every game.

It's one of the reasons why -- I mean his wife, Gisele Bundchen, has been very clear that she wanted him to retire for years now.

And after he beat the Bucs -- or after he beat the Chiefs in the Super Bowl last year, the very first thing she said to him was, what more do you have to prove, and he figured out a way to change the subject.

(LAUGHTER)

WICKERSHAM: You know, the intensity required to do what he's done and the level of perfectionism and the dark moments you have when you come up just short, all of the sleepless nights.

I don't think any of us can understand how much he puts into the game.

To a certain extent, it's no surprise that, after 22 years, he's ready to walk away.

Now, all that said, it's a void. There's a reason why he said in the past that he'll seek therapy when he walks away.

Because nothing is really going to fill that passion and that -- you know, the feeling that he gets of being alive when he's out there competing.

And so while he expands into this Brady brand, and we see where that takes him, I do wonder, longer term, just what life is like for him without this game.

CABRERA: Yes, and he leaves the game on top, as the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards, touchdown passes, completions, regular season wins, playoff wins, Super Bowl MVPs, just to name a few of his records there.

Seth Wickersham, I appreciate your insight. Thanks so much for joining us.

WICKERSHAM: Thank you.

CABRERA: Up next, why parents of kids under the age of 5 may soon be able to breathe a sigh of relief about getting her children vaccinated against COVID.

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[13:42:54]

CABRERA: It's the news millions of families with younger kids have been waiting for.

Pfizer, as soon as today, is expected to ask the FDA to grant emergency use authorization for a two-dose regimen of its COVID vaccine for kids as young as 6 years old.

Meaning, shots could be going into the littlest arms by the end of the month,.

With us is Dr. Jonathan Reiner, former medical adviser in the George W. Bush administration and professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University.

Dr. Reiner, Pfizer seeking this authorization of two doses as it will continue to test the effectiveness of three doses. Is this the right move?

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, it depends. It's possible that Pfizer has data that they have not yet publicly released.

But remember, in December, when Pfizer released some interim data on that trial of kids 6 months to 5 years, they found that the group of children between 2 and 4 did not have adequate immunogenicity.

Meaning, a dose of vaccine did not provide the immune response it did for older kids. It did for the littler kids, six months to 2 years, but not for the 2 to 4-year-old group.

Maybe they have data suggesting that even the reduced immunogenicity protects against infection. We don't know. But that's what could prompt Pfizer to make that a three-dose vaccine.

So it's intriguing and a little unclear why they're doing this now.

CABRERA: And it's that uncertainty that has fueled some of the vaccine hesitancy for parents, even for kids who are already eligible. Right now, only 22 percent of children ages 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated.

I wonder, what percentage of kids do we need onboard to really make a significant impact here in the overall fight?

REINER: We want everybody onboard. We want the entire country on board.

[13:44:57]

And when I speak to my patients in clinic, the few who are still unvaccinated, I tell them that I know that this vaccine and our vaccines are super effective and super safe.

So if we're going to tell our parents of little kids in this country that they need to vaccinate their children, we need to have the same kind of data.

We can't go to them with sort of, well, we have some data that supports this. We need to tell them that we have robust data.

So I want to make sure that when finally the FDA decides on this, that they are evaluating the full set of data that we can go to parents around this country. And tell them with complete confidence that the vaccine is not just safe but super effective at preventing illness in their kid.

CABRERA: And do you believe confidently that if the FDA does grant emergency use authorization, that all of that is buttoned up, that that is complete confidence that this is safe and effective?

REINER: I believe that if the FDA grants an EUA for it, that they will demand that data.

Now, which suggests to me that perhaps Pfizer has some data that they have not yet released that would support a two-dose approval strategy.

But they haven't released that to the public yet, particularly for the 2 to 4-year-old group.

CABRERA: We'll be watching carefully on that.

Thank you so much, Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you.

REINER: My pleasure.

CABRERA: Up next, across the country, there's a wave of bomb threats targeting several HBCUs. The latest on this string of threats, next.

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CABRERA: In an unusual ruling, a federal judge has rejected a plea agreement with one of the men convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.

In a state trial, Travis and Gregory McMichael were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility for parole -- that was earlier this month -- for murdering Arbery while he was out jogging.

Well, this new plea deal was for a federal charge where they are facing hate crime charges. Now, the deal would have allowed them to serve time in a federal prison.

And after the judge ruled on the deal for Travis McMichael, both men asked for more time to decide exactly how they wanted to proceed.

This ruling came after an emotional plea from Arbery's mother to the judge in this case.

And Elie Honig is with us. He's a senior legal analyst and former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

How rare is this for a judge to reject a plea agreement?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Ana, I did hundreds upon hundreds of plea agreements in my time as a federal prosecutor, never had one rejected by a judge, never even heard of that happening to any of my colleagues. But here's what's unusual about this case. There's two kinds of

federal plea agreements, broadly speaking.

The more common type, not the type this was, the more common type is when the prosecution and the defense agree the defendant will plead guilty, the sentencing range will be between "A" and "B."

And then it's up to the judge. The judge may sentence within that range, above or below, but the judge cannot accept or reject the plea.

This deal here was the less common kind, where the prosecution and defense agree the sentence will be "X," in this case, 30 years. But in that case, the judge has the power to accept it or reject it.

The judge here rejected it. It is extremely rare to see that happen.

CABRERA: And we know Ahmaud Arbery's family has a strong and emotional reaction to the announcement of the plea deal. How much of an impact do you think that had on the judge's ruling?

HONIG: It had to have the largest impact you can think of.

I mean, if Ahmaud Arbery's family said, we're fine with it, the prosecution was fine and the defense was fine, it's safe to assume the judge would have accepted it.

As a prosecutor, you have a legal obligation to consult with the victim or the family of a victim in the case of a murder. You have to give great weight to what the victim's family wants. But you're not bound by that.

And here, there seems to have been a disconnect between the Justice Department and Ahmaud Arbery's family.

CABRERA: And I have just 20 seconds or so. But this could have been the first time we saw an admission in that guilty plea that this was a hate crime, that Arbery's killing was racially motivated.

For that to be backtracked, what is the impact?

HONIG: There's only a couple ways we can go here. There could be a different plea agreement where the parties will admit there was a racial motive or it will go to trial and a jury will make that decision.

Those are the two ways this could go.

CABRERA: OK, we'll watch.

Thank you so much, Elie Honig.

HONIG: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: And today, several historically black colleges and universities are dealing with another day of fear and disruption because of bomb threats. The threats have prompted schools to postpone classes, in some cases,

to lockdown or shutdown the campuses.

At least 13 HBCUs report receiving bomb threats just today. Six threats were reported yesterday.

Let's bring in CNN senior Washington correspondent, Joe Johns.

Joe, what do officials think or who is behind these threats?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, isn't that the million-dollar question, Ana?

Second day in a row, third day in about a month. Another morning of multiple bomb threats to historically black colleges and universities.

At last count, there were something like more than a dozen schools that got bomb threats.

They don't know who's going this.

Most of the events today taking place in the eastern United States, disrupting classes, prompting lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders as the authorities try to figure out who's responsible.

No explosive devices have been found, according to authorities. But the emergency response as well as the campus disruption this creates is the issue.

Now, the calls apparently started very early this morning.

For example, this morning's bomb threat to Howard University here in Washington, D.C., came around 2:55 a.m. Eastern time. It was the second threat to Howard in 24 hours.

But because it came so early, a spokesman told me they were able to fully investigate and clear campus for normal operations.

But for some of those other schools, in states like Maryland, Florida, Kentucky, Georgia, Louisiana, the bomb threats did disrupt campus activities this morning.

So, today's the third day in a month. And it's attracting attention at the highest level.

The White House press secretary said yesterday the president is aware. The FBI and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms are on the case -- Ana?

CABRERA: And so do we know what those federal investigators are doing right now?

JOHNS: We do not. Other than they're trying to track down whoever it is that is doing this. And certainly trying to determine whether there's a pattern, whether there's a conspiracy, how many people are involved. CABRERA: All right, Joe Johns, thank you very much. We know you'll

stay on this investigation.

[13:55:01]

And that does it for us today. I really appreciate everybody for joining us. We'll see you back here tomorrow. Until then, you can always join me on Twitter, @AnaCabrera.

The news continues next with Alisyn and Victor.

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[14:00:04]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Alisyn Camerota.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: I'm Victor Blackwell. It is good to be with you.

We are following several developing stories right now.