Deflategate: Abandon Logic And Reason, All Ye Who Enter Here
By Kevin Saito
Well, thanks to the league dropping the hammer on Tom Brady and the Patriots, the coming days, weeks, and months are certainly going to be interesting. And if you’re a big fan of Schadenfreude and slow motion train wrecks, it just might be pretty entertaining too.
More from Las Vegas Raiders News
- Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
- Raiders: Bryan Edwards out, Henry Ruggs doubtful for Sunday
- Raiders: Damon Arnette re-injures thumb, could be headed to IR
- Raiders fall short in letdown Week 3 loss to the New England Patriots
- Raiders: Game breakdown and prediction for Week 3 at New England Patriots
After the world learned of the sanctions being handed down in the #Deflategate fiasco, it took about a millisecond for New England’s fans to erupt in anger and outrage. If you believe that climate change is even partially a man made problem, then surely you fear that the amount of huffing, puffing, and blustering hot air filling the atmosphere by irate Patriots’ fans has doomed our entire planet and species.
Given the stunningly vitriolic overreaction by Brady’s fans and apologists, you would have thought Roger Goodell had sentenced him to the electric chair, or at the very least, to be exiled to Mars.
In short, it seems that when discussing the #Deflategate sanctions, all logic, reason, and common sense have apparently left the building.
One thing that must be stated up front – can we please stop with the comparisons between Brady’s punishment and that of Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, Adrian Peterson, et al.? They’re apples, oranges, and a poor comparison from the start. One has nothing to do with the other and attempting to conflate them comes across a cheap stunt designed to stir emotion and controversy.
We can all agree that Goodell absolutely screwed the pooch when it came to disciplining Rice, Peterson, and Hardy. His first mistake was his ham handed butchering of Rice’s punishment. Then came the even more ham handed overcorrection of Rice’s punishment. Which led to an even more ham handed handling of Hardy and Peterson’s situations. He got it wrong from the start, and he still hasn’t truly gotten it right in those cases.
However.
The two things — Brady’s punishment and Rice/Hardy/Peterson’s punishments — are incongruous and can’t really be compared simply because the NFL did not, and maybe still doesn’t, have the proper infrastructure or mechanisms in place to deal with serious, real world issues that have real world victims and real world consequences.
And Goodell doesn’t have the intellectual honesty, nor as Bill Simmons suggested, the testicular fortitude to step up, draw a line in the sand, and do the right thing.
Jan 30, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during a press conference for Super Bowl XLIX at the Phoenix Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
If it comes to real world issues like domestic violence and child abuse, expect Goodell to pull an ostrich — bury his head in the sand and hope it goes away — simply because he is not equipped to deal with the “real world.” Not when he’s up so high in his ivory towers that he can’t really see the “real world” on the streets below.
But when it comes to the tightly controlled, overly regulated world of the NFL, where everything is so strictly buttoned up and by the book — from dictating shoe color, which headphones they can be seen wearing in public, to yes, things like competitive imbalances — Goodell rules like a little tin dictator. Think Kim Jong Un — without all that charisma and charm.
Things like ball deflation are right in Goodell’s wheelhouse simply because it’s all part of the highly artificial, tightly controlled world of the NFL, and he feels comfortable laying a smackdown on issues relating to and impacting that. The NFL is a big show, Goodell is the ringmaster, and by gods he will not allow the clowns to run the circus.
So, while it might score emotional points, comparing Brady’s punishment with that of Rice, Hardy, and Peterson can’t really be compared. It’s apples and oranges.
Okay, now that we have that out of the way.
More from Golden Gate Sports
- Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
- 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
- Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
- 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
- 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve
With the amount of purely emotionally driven arguments, counter-arguments, ranting, raving, and bloviating, about the injustice done to Brady and the Patriots, one small fact seems to be getting lost in all the nois – or is just conveniently overlooked – Brady broke the rules. It really all boils down to that one thing. Plain and simple. He knowingly broke the rules. And when you break the rules, there is usually a punishment to be had.
And as any five-year old who’s purposely hidden something to avoid punishment can tell you – it’s not usually the original crime that they hit you the hardest for, it’s the cover up of that original crime that makes them really drop the hammer on you.
In this case, it’s the fact that Brady lied about the ball deflating plan – and yes Pats fans, he did lie about even knowing Jim “The Deflator” McNally’s name – something that the text messages from fellow conspirator John Jastremski made abundantly clear. But he also covered up evidence by denying Ted Wells’ team access to his electronic data during the course of their investigation – despite Wells’ team being willing to go to great lengths to protect information not relevant to Deflategate.
Feb 1, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) walks on the field during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
And no, sorry Pats fans. This is not a “Constitutional” or “Court of Law” argument. This is a workplace investigation. Employees – which Brady is – do not enjoy the same Constitutional protections during the course of a workplace investigation as say, a guy on the street pulled over by the police. If you doubt that, the next time your boss demands to see your electronic data, tell him to get stuffed and see what happens.
Brady and the Patriots promised absolutely full cooperation with Wells’ investigation and they did not provide it. Despite the fact that they had an obligation to do so.
So, for those of you scoring at home, Tom Brady 1) Broke the rules by orchestrating a ball deflating scheme , 2) lied about evidence related to the investigation of said rule breaking, such as even knowing the man deflating the balls at his behest and 3) refused to cooperate with the investigation – despite being obligated to do so – by denying Wells’ team access to his electronic data.
Brady could have put a pin in all of this before it ever got started by giving Wells’ team – under the direction of his attorney as Wells himself guaranteed – access to his electronic data and proving, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that he was totally clean in this ball deflating scheme.
But he didn’t. Which gives the distinct impression that he has something to hide. And given the text messages we do have, we can pretty well surmise what that is.
And it’s not like this was a one time occurrence that happened only during the AFC Championship game. This ball deflating scheme has been going on for quite some time, as the text messages between Jastremski and McNally indicated.
Live Feed
FanSided
Patriots fans and Brady apologists, all while declaring Brady’s innocence at the loudest volume possible, are also decrying the stupidity of the rule. And – spoiler alert – it is a stupid rule. But it is still a rule. Would you argue to a judge that doing 75 mph in a 35 mph zone is a stupid rule, and therefore, you should not be punished? If so, good luck with that.
Breaking the rule — even a stupid rule like that — gives the person doing the rule breaking a competitive advantage – which, by definition, disadvantages the other team.
The underinflated balls make it easier for Brady to throw, for his receivers to catch, and for his running backs to hold on to – their remarkable fumble rate is something that has been brought up numerous times. But the Patriots’ opponents, by using balls that were still regulation, were not given that same advantage.
Now, if the rule was changed so that the teams could prepare their footballs in the way that best suits them, that would be one thing. But Brady took it upon himself to knowingly circumvent the rules by orchestrating the scheme to deflate the balls to his liking while the opposing team played with balls that hadn’t been tampered with – hence, it is a competitive advantage.
More from Golden Gate Sports
- Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
- 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
- Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
- 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
- 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve
Look, Pats fans, this isn’t some big conspiracy. The league is not out to get you. The Patriots have continually put themselves in the crosshairs by skirting, breaking, or really pushing the envelope in regard to certain rules. From Spygate to Deflategate, to Bill Belichick’s creative use of the formation rules, to a dozen other things, the Patriots are always living on the edge – and they often step over that line.
This isn’t the league and Roger Goodell looking to get over on the Patriots. This isn’t some grand conspiracy of haters, jealous of the Patriots’ success. What this actually is, is a case of the Patriots putting a hammer in Goodell’s hands and daring him to use it. The wounds the Patriots have suffered are self-inflicted, and not part of some league-wide conspiracy of envious evildoers determined to take New England’s empire down.
Unless you actually believe that Jastremski and McNally just knew how Brady likes his balls prepared and acting alone, without any sort of input or guidance from him, took it upon themselves to doctor the balls each and every game for him – making sure the balls were exactly how he liked them. And of course, the shoes, cash, and autographed memorabilia were probably just given to McNally out of the goodness of Brady’s heart even though he claims he didn’t even know the guy’s name.
Yeah, because that sounds entirely plausible. And if you believe that, I have a few timeshares on Mars I’d like to sell you.
Make no mistake about it, Brady and the Patriots had the hammer dropped on them because of their arrogance, their lack of cooperation with the Wells investigation, and oh yeah, because this isn’t the first time they’ve been caught cheating. That whole repeat offender thing – and the little slap on the wrist the first time they got busted – seems pretty important. And they have nobody buy themselves to blame.
If Goodell wants to be known for one thing – aside from banking tens of millions of dollars a year – it’s that he protected the integrity of the game. Given how many times he’s talked about his responsibility to “protect the shield,” to protect integrity of the game and the league, it’s quite obviously something Goodell takes very, very seriously.
And what Brady did – as well as his arrogance about it in the aftermath – is an absolute affront to what Goodell stands for and sees as his sacred responsibility. So he dropped the hammer on them for it as his sacred responsibility demands. It’s one of the few things Goodell has gotten right since he ascended to the Commissioner’s office.
Of course, Brady and the Patriots will appeal. In a just world, he would not have one minute shaved off of his suspension, and the Patriots would still have to forfeit the cash and the picks they were assessed. But the NFL is hardly a just world, so anything could happen.
Well – anything but Brady and the Patriots stepping up and taking responsibility for their actions, anyway. Because that apparently, is not the Patriot Way.
Whatever happens, it should be something to see. So grab your popcorn, sit back, and watch the fireworks of New England’s histrionics and rage on display. Watch the bitter, angry, and resentful Patriots fans attempt to distort logic, twist the truth, and perhaps even re-write a little history to show they have Tom’s back. If nothing else, the histrionics and constant gnashing of teeth/rending of garments will make the dog days of summer interesting, to say the least.
Next: Hayden, Carrie Biggest Keys to Oakland's Success in 2015