You know, I thought we were pasted this. I thought the only thing I’d be worried about heading into the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft was whether or not the Patriots would be getting their first round draft pick back or not. Instead, I’m writing another article on Deflategate. In the past year, we have all spent countless hours talking about a game in which the Patriots beat the Colts 45-7. 45 to 7. A game in which LeGarrette Blount rushed for 148 yards and 3 touchdowns. I don’t care if he was carrying a feather in his arms the Colts would not have been able to stop him.
Monday morning, I found myself dumbfounded at the fact that Tom Brady would be suspended for the first 4 games of the 2016-2017 season. A full year removed from this Deflategate conflict. I was livid to say the least. My family and friends got some strongly worded text messages about my thoughts on the subject (none of which are appropriate for this blog). I didn’t get it. The facts proved Tom’s innocence. Weather conditions have an effect on footballs. Ted Well’s Report has been proven to be about as biased as the NFL’s reporting on CTE and yet, Tom Brady is currently not allowed to play the first four games of next season.
I looked deeper into the court’s decision. I spent about 2 hours reading the U.S. Court of Appeals decision (not all the way through, I’ll admit but finals are this so I had to get some work done last Monday) and what I found was funny to say the least. The court basically said that they didn’t care about the footballs. They don’t care about the game or the accusations that have come forth against Tom. The only thing they cared about was ruling on whether or not Goodell had the right to suspend Tom in the first place.
According to the Collective Barging Agreement (CBA) signed by the NFL and the NFL Players Association, the NFL Commissioner has the right to suspend or fine an NFL employee or player for whatever he wants. That is what the decision was based on. If a player wears the wrong socks or a tshirt Goodell doesn’t like, eh 5 thousand dollar fine. If a player takes steroids, 5 games. If a player beats another human being with his bare hands and throws her on to a sofa full of automatic weapons, 4 games (that one actually happened, Greg Hardy got 4 games for beating his girlfriend and Tom Brady got 4 games for maybe, possibly, you know there could be a chance that he knew about letting air out of some footballs).
So to all out there saying, “this proves Tom cheated” or “the punishment fits the crime” you can go cry yourself to sleep because the decision has nothing to do with Tom Brady. It is based on the flaw in the system. I remember back in 2011 when the CBA was being discussed. Players were on strike and the NFL would not budge on certain rights issues. I was on the NFL’s side. I wrote an entire paper on why I agreed with them. I am ashamed of that work now. I was focused on the basic aspects of the problems with players asking for too much money. I didn’t pay attention to the players’ grievances with the league and its commissioner.
That agreement was flawed and it wasn’t given the attention it deserved. Fans, like me, were so worried about not getting to see football on Sunday that we never bothered to think about the fact the NFL is a business and players are employees. Roger Goodell is treating the league like a dictatorship. Countless members of the league including Seattle Seahawks’ cornerback Richard Sherman and New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees have spoken on the fact Goodell has completely mishandled numerous situations that have occurred in his tenure.
The decision on Monday has nothing to do with what Tom Brady is accused of doing, he’s just the one getting punished for it. Just because you are can do something doesn’t mean you should. Roger Goodell has made a mess in the NFL. But unfortunately, the players and the fans let him do it. We were too focused on wanting to watch our favorite teams that we forgot to keep an eye on what was going on behind the scenes.
As of the day I submitted for editing, Tommy has found another attorney to add to his ranks. One with significant experience with the US Supreme Court. I’d love to see him take it to the Supreme Court whether he comes out victorious or not it would show Goodell that he won’t take no for an answer. Mr. Brady goes to Washington would make a great story line for the summer.
Either way, Tom, I’m behind you 100% of the way. Fight it or don’t fight it, you will always be the GOAT and a world class guy!
#FREEBRADY #DEFENDTHEWALL
