Well, it’s been decided. The New England Patriots will be without the face of their franchise in the first month of the regular season. Deflate-Gate has reached an end; or has it?
I could write an entire novel about the events of the past six months, but I’ll do my best to condense it all for you. About six months ago, the Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts 45-7 in a playoff game on the way to the Super Bowl. After the game, however, the Colts accused the Patriots of deflating footballs. A few weeks later, an investigation found that supposedly, 11 out of the 12 footballs were under-inflated by a few psi (pounds per square inch).
A deeper investigation was launched: Who authorized the deflation of the footballs? Did Tom Brady have anything to do with this? How long had this been going on?
The investigation, while admittedly hazy in many places, found enough information to say with some confidence that Tom Brady was “generally aware” of the deflation of the footballs. The NFL then slapped New England with a one million dollar fine (the largest in NFL history) and a loss of a first round draft pick. More importantly, though, Tom Brady, the Golden Boy of professional football, was given a four game suspension.
Brady and the NFL Player’s Association didn’t take too kindly to this, and appealed the decision, but the NFL upheld the four game suspension. Tom Brady will not play during the first month of the season, largely due to reports that he may or may not have destroyed his phone that had evidence of his awareness of the deflation of the footballs.
This entire story has been extremely hazy, but there’s one thing that’s clear; no matter what Tom Brady does, and no matter what the verdict is in this federal case, he can’t win in the court that really matters; the court of public opinion.
Like any successful athlete, Brady has been a polarizing figure since the beginning. Many say that the only reason that he won his first Super Bowl was because of a “tuck rule” that came into play on the Patriot’s path to the Super Bowl in the 2000-2001 season, and still more people point to the events of “Spy-Gate” as the reason for his next two rings. The same goes for Deflate-Gate; it doesn’t really matter if Tom Brady is found innocent in a court of law or not, because he’s already been found guilty from a public perspective. With the way that social media works today, coupled with the seemingly biological instinct that human beings have to overreact quickly to any sort of news story, Brady was doomed from the moment that the Colts issued a complaint about the footballs all those months ago.
People’s opinions on sports are steadfast. In my experience, people are firmer in their fandom than most anything else, even their political views. This situation is no different; I don’t think that Tom Brady has lost or gained any new followers over the past few months. If you love him, then you’re convinced that he’s innocent, or at least not as guilty as the numerous investigations have pointed him out to be. On the flip side, if you’ve always disliked him, you’re sure that this is just another example of the Patriots breaking the rules to get a Super Bowl win. I sincerely doubt that those who are anti-Patriot are going to suddenly have a change of heart if Tom Brady is found innocent; they’ll chalk it up to the NFL wanting to protect their most valuable asset in the game today and move on to the next season.
Brady can play this out as long as he wants, and I respect the fight that he still has in clearing his name. But when it comes to the court of public opinion, he’s already been proven guilty. Unfortunately, there’s nothing that he can do or say to change that.
