It may be remembered as one of the hardest hits of Super Bowl XLVI.
Following the New England Patriots' tough loss to the New York Giants, Gisele Bundchen lashed out, as the supermodel defended her husband, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. But she isn't the first woman to publicly try to protect someone she loves.
Bundchen was walking to the elevator at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis when someone yelled to her, "Eli owns your husband!" She didn't respond to the heckler, and instead spoke to members of her group, cursing and saying Brady can't throw the ball and catch it at the same time. It was a reference to any one of several key dropped passes late in the game.
Plenty have weighed in on whether Bundchen should have said anything or if she violated an unwritten code among athletes. She has company, however.
Here are other stories of women sticking up for the men in their life.
Brenda Warner - The wife of NFL quarterback Kurt Warner made a habit of calling St. Louis talk-radio stations to defend her husband, who by 2003 had gone from Super Bowl Most Valuable Player to backup. Ironically, his fall from grace happened after Warner's heavily favored St. Louis Rams lost the 2002 Super Bowl to the New England Patriots, who were led by up-and-coming quarterback Tom Brady. Brenda Warner even suggested a trade from the Rams would be welcome, even though St. Louis was the franchise where he became a star. This did not endear her to Rams fans.
Deidre Pujols - The wife of MLB slugger Albert Pujols also got in trouble with comments she made on the radio. And she also insulted a St. Louis team, when she claimed in December that the Cardinals' five-year, $130 million contract offer to her husband was "an insult." Pujols, who has spent his entire 11-year career with the Cardinals and played a pivotal role in the 2011 World Series, ended up signing a 10-year, $254 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels.
Some mothers have gotten into the act:
Minna Wilson - The mother of boxer Tony Wilson watched her son getting pummeled by his opponent, Steven McCarthy, during a 1989 boxing match in Southhampton, England. So she climbed into the ring and proceeded to hit McCarthy repeatedly in the head with her stiletto. The referees quickly stopped the "beating," but McCarthy had sustained a cut on his head from Minna Wilson's actions, which required four stitches to close. McCarthy refused to continue to box, so he was disqualified. Wilson was declared the winner, and a subsequent re-match was set up. Minna Wilson did not attend the re-match.
And athletes aren't the only ones with defenders:
Wendi Deng - The wife of embattled media mogul Rupert Murdoch leapt to her husband's defense last summer by smacking a protestor who threw a shaving-cream pie during a hearing with British lawmakers on the News Corp. hacking scandal. The video went viral, and Deng's smack down was lauded.
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