Rob Gronkowski was spotted in Las Vegas by TMZ.com partying at a night club with a broken forearm and the Boston Globe was none too pleased about it.
According to the Globe, the paper printed the words "Grow up, Gronk" on Tuesday in response o the video, which showed the record-setting tight end body slamming and wrestling with a friend while also knocking his broken arm multiple times.
The 23-year old seemed fine afterwards, but there is always a chance something could have been hurt. He is seen in the video shirtless and slamming his friend to the ground with his arm landing under him. Gronkowski recently signed a six year, $54 million extension and is one of the most important players on the field for the Patriots.
Gronkowski has been known for his antics off the field and was scolded by the Patriots after appearing in pictures on Twitter with a porn star. He also was profiled in Sports Illustrated as a party animal and drinker, although he was also shown to be a hard worker who cares about football.
"I didn't intend anything to hurt the reputation of anyone on the New England Patriots or on behalf of Robert Kraft," he said following the previous picture issue. "It was just a simple picture."
Gronkowski spoke about his injury last week, which was sustained first against the Dolphins in Week 11, then reinjured against the Texans in the playoffs.
"Two breaks, because I'm crazy," Gronkowski said on Radio Row last week, according to Yahoo Sports. "Freak accident, man. It's frustrating when stuff like that happens, because you can't do anything about it. Now, the only thing I can do is rehab it, get it stronger, and get it 100 percent for next year."
Gronkowski is a big part of New England's plans, as ESPN's Stats and Info reports that the Patriots' completion percentage dropped from 65.7 to 58.4 without the talented tight end in the game, and the yards per play dipped from 6.0 to 5.4. The team's touchdown-to-interception ratio also went down from 23-3 to 11-6.
Originally, TMZ broke the story.
According to TMZ.com, Gronkowski was seen on video in a Las Vegas nightclub pulling a body slam wrestling move on one of his friends, landing on the broken forearm he suffered in the playoffs. He stood up afterwards and motioned he was okay, but it is likely head coach Bill Belichick did not like it.
The report says that Gronkowiski was wearing a protective sleeve and that the TMZ footage shows that the tight end who recently signed a $54 million six-year contract extension should be fine. Last year Gronkowksi had an ankle injury in the Super Bowl and was seen later that night dancing in a club and celebrating.
HERE is a link to the video showing Gronkowski doing the body slam move on his friend.
The Patriots lost to the Ravens in the AFC Championship game before heading into New Orleans and defeating the 49ers for the Super Bowl championship. Gronkowski was originally hurt in Week 11 against the Miami Dolphins and returned for the playoffs against the Houston Texans.
Gronkowski was hurt on a deep pass after catching a ball out of bounds in the first quarter and landing on his left arm, which had already been broken earlier in the season, forcing the tight end to miss time. Gronkowski went to the locker room and could be seen on television dealing with the pain.
"I said a really long prayer for that dude," cornerback Aqib Talib said to Boston.com. "He worked hard to get back. It's tough, man, it's tough. It's big losing Rob, but they played without him before."
The tight end is leading the team with 11 receptions and was playing for the second time since originally injuring the arm. Following the game Gronkowski was wearing a sling on his left arm.
"It's always a tough break," Patriots guard Logan Mankins said to ESPNBoston.com. "Everyone on the team loves Rob. Loves him as a person, player. It's a tough break for him, and it's always a tough break for our team, but whoever gets put in that spot, they have to do that job. We're all counting on him."
Gronkowski landed on the same arm he broke against the Indianapolis colts on Nov. 18, which forced him to miss five games earlier in the year, His first game back was the regular season finale against the Miami Dolphins and he looked relatively healthy after grabbing two receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Head coach Bill Belichick said he did not regret playing Gronkowski, who was wearing a heavy wrapping and padding on his arm during the game.
"The doctors handle medical decisions," Belichick told reporters after the game.
Gronkowski has been healthy for his entire career up to this point, never missing a single game before being injured against the Colts. He dealt with an ankle injury in the Super Bowl last season, but played through the pain against the Giants. This season he has also been dealing with a nagging hip injury.
Gronkowski had 55 receptions for 790 yards and league-leading 11 touchdowns despite playing in just 11 games. Despite missing that time, Gronkowski was named to the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career. Last season he set a position record with 17 touchdowns to go along with 90 receptions for 1,327 yards.
The Patriots went 4-1 during the regular season without Gronkowski, but are much more dangerous with him in the lineup. Hernandez had made 46 catches for 439 yards and five touchdowns while playing in nine games before Gronkowski returned and he will need to continue that type of production as the team moves further in the playoffs.
