After a long off-season, the courtroom deems the NFL was unjust for suspending, New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady, for the first four games of the season. Whether you agree or disagree with "deflategate," the NFL has been undermined by a franchise shrouded in controversy.
Two problems surfaced with this issue. NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell needs to relinquish his duties as the sole voice of discipline in the NFL, and the league needs to take a closer look at the Patriots and how to handle the franchise in future controversies.
First off, kudos to Tom Brady; he stuck it out. He refused to be punished, and like a whining three year-old who wants ice cream after dinner, he got what he wanted. Don't get me wrong, "deflategate" was minor. The Patriots waxed the Colts in the game that held so much controversy, and it was going to take more than properly inflated footballs to change the outcome. The principal is the problem -- and the principal is integrity.
In a decade-long span, the Patriots have been host to a number of controversies, most famously "spygate." For those who aren't as football-inclined, spygate was the name for a Patriots related controversy that involved illegal taping of signals and play calls of opposing teams. Some believed that many teams fell victim to this, and many from the Panthers organization have expressed beliefs that the Patriots cheated in their Super Bowl 38 match-up. After much of the controversy, the Patriots received a minor slap on the wrist in the form of a financial fine, and they were allowed to savor their Super Bowl wins and accomplishments, untouched.
Flash forward to this past summer, and it looks certain that Tom Brady will be forced to sit out the first four games. In an effort to appeal the suspension, the man who essentially provided the suspension heard the appeal (Roger Goodell) and maintained his decision. In response, Brady challenged the decision, via the court system, and a judge ruled in his favor. Regardless of the significance, once again, the New England Patriots squeak by and avoid punishment for manipulating a game.
Should the blame lie on the NFL, or the Patriots, for being rule breakers? The answer is the NFL. The system for punishment failed as a result of the decision making process. One man cannot make the punishment, and also be the one to hear and deliver the verdict for appeals. Had Goodell decided to create a board or jury for NFL discipline hearings, Brady would have had a much harder time appealing the suspension. As a fan of the game, seeing a team go virtually unpunished for cheating hurts. Where is the integrity? For the sake of future NFL teams, a new system should replace the current system for NFL conduct hearings. Please relinquish some power and keep the game fair, Goodell.
