“Why do so many people hate Tom Brady?”

That’s the provocative question posed by Fox News host Laura Ingraham on “The Ingraham Angle” Friday night, just mere hours before the biggest football game of the year.

Playful competition and trash talking is par for the course in most professional sports. But in the case of the quarterback for the New England Patriots, the attacks seem out of proportion — and sometimes flat-out crazy. Take this week’s viciousness toward him over a video in which Brady’s 11-year-old son is shown giving his dad a kiss on the lips while Brady lies on the massage table having work done to his shoulder. One network even called this the “kiss controversy.”

Since when is sharing affection with a child by an innocent peck something shameworthy or wrong?

It is not, of course.

Given the hammering Brady received (and is still receiving all over the internet) for something that’s obviously positive, perhaps there’s more at play here than a simple sports rivalry. Perhaps issues with “deflategate” aren’t what’s truly driving the intensity of the hatred for this man.

Perhaps what’s behind much of the hatred is an all-too-familiar green-eyed monster, suggested Ingraham on Friday night — pure, unadulterated jealousy. Yep, jealousy.

Brady is handsome. He’s talented. He’s wealthy. He has a great family. He’s adored by his fans.

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He shares some of those characteristics with another man whom liberals in America love to hate. Donald Trump, another winner by many significant measures, is also the target of disproportionate hatred.

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What characteristics do Brady and Trump share that could engender such jealousy by segments of the population? Both men are winners. Both have incredible work ethics. Both are wealthy. Both have lovely families. Both have unseated their opponents — causing them disappointment or embarrassment in the process.

Adding fuel to the fire, both Brady and Trump are, at times, short on humility. But nobody’s perfect, and if they’re getting their jobs done, who cares?

Related: Tom Brady Is Rewriting the Rules of Professional Football

Both men do not deserve the intensity of the hatred thrown their way on a regular basis.

“As we watch the Super Bowl this weekend, we should try to hate Tom Brady a little bit less,” said Ingraham. “Tom Brady works hard every day to achieve excellence and to win. Not a bad thing for our kids to aspire to.”

Whether the venue is sports or politics, perhaps if we all acknowledged the role simple jealousy can play in ginning up undeserved, hateful rhetoric — we would all be the better for it.

Michele Blood is a freelance writer and regular contributor to LifeZette.