Tom Brady is having a fabulous week. After a controversial uplifting of his four-game suspension, Brady led the New England Patriots to a win 28-21 over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even if the Pats were to lose that game, Brady got to leave with supermodel wife, Giselle Bünchen, so, he kind of wins at life. However, is it really considered winning after intense cheating speculation?
In case you have been living under a rock for the past few months, let me catch up on what is happening with the ever sturdy Patriots franchise. On May 6, 2015, the NFL published a 243-page report regarding the deflation of footballs in the AFC Championship game. In this report, it was determined that Brady was “at the very least” generally aware of the initial deflation. Days later on May 11, Brady was officially suspended four games the following season for his association with the case that would later be dubbed, “Deflategate.”
Don’t get too sad for our bright-eyed QB yet, because on Sept. 3, 2015, Judge Richard M. Berman overturned the suspension against Brady, and New England fans everywhere thanked the football gods above. Because Judge Berman was just doing what he felt was fair, right? Maybe. The following Labor Day weekend, Berman had a “chance encounter” with the Patriots franchise owner, Robert Kraft, at a party in the Hamptons. Sounds pretty New England clam-chowdery…
The Commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell, seemed a bit upset after Berman uplifted the suspension, as well. Goodell spoke to ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike and said, “…we also have some resistance to a third-party arbitration. We believe that the standards of the NFL are important to uphold. We believe that you don’t delegate that responsibility, or those standards. We think that somebody with a deep knowledge of the game and our policies, and our rules are important, particularly when it comes to competitive violations.”
This is not the first time the Pats have been in (cheating) hot water. In 2007, the Patriots’ head coach, Bill Belichick, was fined $500,000 (more than any other disciplinary fine in the league’s 87-year history) for his role in the “Spygate” scandal. The Pats were caught videotapping the New York Jets’ hand signals, which is obviously not allowed.
While Brady did not have a role in Spygate, I find it hard to believe he did not participate in Deflategate. The Patriots is Brady’s team; fans would be just as satisfied to wear that creepy, grinning picture of his face on their blue beanies. He is the leader and has some type of obligation to uphold the standards of his team and his organization. If questionably cheating is what the Patriots stand for, then he is doing an alright job. However, if being respected is on the top of their list, Brady has some work to do.
Let me be incredibly clear: BRADY IS AN EXCELLENT FOOTBALL PLAYER. It aches me to say that because I am a fan of underdog (cough, cough, “losing”) teams, but Brady, Julian Edelman, and Gronk have great chemistry--represented by the multiple Super Bowl rings. No one is questioning the Patriots’ talent in the game or Brady’s skill as a quarterback; it is Brady’s validity as a respectable person that is faulty. I will never cheer for the Patriots out of pure principle, but my younger brother who is a high school senior football player probably will. I just hope Brady will work off the field as hard as he does on the field to set a good example for those who truly love the game.
