The Latest NFL Cheating Scandal
After the AFC Championship game this past January, it was revealed that 11 of the 12 of the New England Patriots game balls were under-inflated by a measurable margin. Sure there are a variety of factors that could probably contribute to some of the balls being deflated, but nearly all of them being flattened seems a bit odd.
The NFL rules on regarding the inflation of a regulation football state: “The ball shall be made up of an inflated (12 1/2 to 13 1/2 pounds) urethane bladder enclosed in a pebble grained, leather case (natural tan color) without corrugations of any kind.”
Enter Tom Brady. NFL Superstar and Super Bowl MVP – the guy who touches the football on pretty much every play. If there were a person on the field who were to have a preference for the inflation of a football, he would probably be the guy. There are also plenty of rumors surrounding some text messages that Brady sent to the equipment staff indicating that he played a part in “Deflate Gate”. For his alleged involvement, Brady received a 4-game suspension from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Goodell has requested to introduce Brady’s cell phone into evidence on behalf of the league, but conveniently the cell phone containing the alleged evidence was smashed to bits, making the data irrecoverable.
Why was Brady worried? Even if the evidence were to have been introduced, history has shown that even a leather glove soaked in a victim’s blood is not enough evidence to convict and NFL superstar.
Earlier this week an appeal for Tom Brady’s 4 game suspension has been denied and everyone in the Patriot’s front office is freaking out.
“I was wrong to put my faith in the league.” Kraft said. “”The decision handed down by the league yesterday is unfathomable to me.”
Unfathomable is a strange word to use for the owner. Unfathomable would be something like having spies video tape other team’s practices or something like that. Unfathomable would be $750,000 in fines as well as some lost draft picks. But that’s old news.
The bottom line is that the Patriots have a history, perhaps even a penchant, for bending the rules of the league. A lot of teams in many sports probably do similar things, but the Patriots seem to have a dismissive sense of entitlement during the whole thing. Their orchestrated “shock” of the whole situation is laughable, but they must remember that this is not a court of law. Some things don’t apply like they do in other situations.
In the end, is it really going to matter? Sure, NFL betting is going to take notice that they’ll be a bit behind starting the first couple games of the season, but if Goodell REALLY wants to send a message to the league, he’ll start suspending folks for the last 4 games of the year. That won’t happen though. Unless it could generate ratings.
