We’ve had a lively discussion of this on Facebook, so I thought I’d post it here as well.
My first reaction to Deflategate was that Tom Brady was responsible. I based my opinion on his refusal to defend himself beyond a few vague statements. He said nothing after the Wells Report came out. I also had no idea the commissioner’s office was so corrupt — not too strong a word.
I changed my mind after we learned that Brady had denied under oath that he had any involvement or knowledge of footballs being deflated. Not only do I have no reason to think Brady is the sort of person who’d lie under oath, but he gave that statement knowing that Lenny and Squiggy could emerge from their lair and contradict him.
I see Judge Richard Berman’s ruling as total vindication. I know he had to be careful in ruling on narrow legal grounds rather than on the facts, but the facts mattered. He asked a lot of factual questions during the hearings, and of course he was well aware of Brady’s denial. There’s also the matter of the false ESPN report — clearly a smear job by the NFL. I can’t prove this, but I believe that if Berman thought Brady was responsible, he might have knocked the suspension down to two games on procedural grounds but wouldn’t have vacated it entirely. Judges are human, and they can’t help but let the facts influence their legal rulings. (And what’s wrong with that?)
Goodell now says he’s going to appeal. Frankly, the best outcome would be if the NFL owners decided he should spend more time with his family. What a clown.
I’m not even a football fan, but I’m glad Brady won. I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that Berman’s ruling legitimizes the Patriots’ championship. I never would have believed it, but the NFL really was out to get them.
As for all the media attention this has gotten, so what? I’ve heard a lot of comments along the lines of “this is so unimportant given what’s going on in the world.” Well, sports is a combination of entertainment and culture, and it’s something a lot of us follow — along with the presidential campaign and the horrors of ISIS and the refugee crisis in Europe. We all care about many different things. I’m not going to criticize anyone for caring about this. I care too.
Discover more from Media Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
DEAD ON COUNSELOR… this whole ‘Deflate-Gate’ thingamajig is about the ‘heart’. What do I mean by that? Tom Brady is ‘pure’… believe it or not. Sometimes in life… a Pure-Spirit is NOT going to throw his comrades ‘under-the-bus’ real or imagined. I BELIEVE Tom and his ball-buddies discussed shaping up the fut-balls! THEY, after the fact said “I’ll (fix THE ‘frigg’n footballs’); did they? Pffft? NOW, is that a conspiracy? Is that a ‘tactical-contribution’ to a
could-you-please-get-the-FRIGG’N-balls ready for me? NO! Goodell, Wells, et al, they just kindasorta, blew their own gonads off! 🙂