Nearly one month after his "dance" moves at a Super Bowl non-victory party produced criticism from some and bewilderment from others, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski said he can understand fans' viewpoint.
But he's not about to let his work ethic come into question.
The video of a shirtless Gronkowski jumping around a dance floor, on an injured ankle that had his status for the game in question, drew the ire of many, including former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison. Others -- notably one of his bosses, Jonathan Kraft -- didn't take issue with the scene.
Gronkowski, ever the student, drew from the Bill Belichick cache of responses during an interview with WPEN-FM in Philadelphia on Friday, explaining that, essentially, he was just having fun.
"I always put my job first, before anything, no matter what it is. I'm always dedicating myself," Gronkowski said.
"Unfortunately, I mean, it just happened like that. It just is what it is," he added. "I had a lot of fun with my family, and that was the first time I got to see them in awhile. We were just having fun with my brothers, friends I hadn't seen in a while. The chance of hanging out with LMFAO, that was pretty cool, too. Unfortunately we didn't win, and that was the No. 1 goal."
Gronkowski, who said he's still in a cast and on crutches following surgery on the ankle, admitted he's not over the loss emotionally. But he very much appeared to be over the loss in the video in question, and it was suggested that many perceive he could have taken the loss harder.
"Yes, definitely I could see the fan's viewpoint," Gronkowski said. "I'm 100 percent in every single game, every single practice. It was definitely a tough loss. I was hurting from it, everyone was hurting from it. You don't work that hard all year to get to the final game and lose. It just hurts.
"It just went on. I'm an easy-going kind of guy. I try and get over things as soon as possible. Life just moves on."