Tom Brady’s deflated balls got even sadder on Tuesday. In May, the NFL handed out the punishments for the epic Deflategate saga, in which the New England Patriots knowingly played with underinflated balls, which was a direct violation of NFL rules. The punishment for Brady was that A) he got to win the SuperBowl and B) he was given a four game suspension, starting at the beginning of this coming season. Per the NFL rules, Brady could and did appeal the four-game suspension. The appeal was seemingly heard by Roger Goodell, the NFL Commissioner. And Goodell made his ruling yesterday: the four-game suspension stands. Brady still has some other options, but still… this has got to be a blow to all of those Patriots fans screaming about the suspension being BS and of course Goodell would overturn it. You can read the full decision here.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has upheld Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on integrity of the game, the league announced Tuesday. NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that Brady will sue, and NFL Media’s Albert Breer added, per a union source, that he has given the NFL Players Association the go-ahead to file in federal court. Brady’s camp will seek an injunction on this suspension to try to keep Brady on the field.
Goodell indicated that Brady’s destruction of evidence was a factor in upholding the suspension.
“The most significant new information that emerged in connection with the appeal was evidence that on or about March 6, 2015 — the very day that he was interviewed by Mr. Wells and his investigated team — Mr. Brady instructed his assistant to destroy the cellphone that he had been using since early 2014, a period that included that AFC Championship Game and the initial weeks of the subsequent investigation,” Goodell wrote in the final decision on the appeal. “During the four months that the cell phone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device. The destruction of the cell phone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady.”
The league also preemptively filed in federal court in New York a complaint Tuesday seeking confirmation of the decision under the principles of federal labor law. The four-time Super Bowl winner is eligible to play Week 6 in Indianapolis against the Colts. Jimmy Garoppolo, who played sparingly as Brady’s backup last year, is expected to start the team’s first four games of the season. Brady remains eligible for training camp and the preseason.
Rapoport reported earlier Tuesday that the NFL and NFLPA exchanged offers for a potential settlement for Brady’s suspension. However, Brady was not willing to accept any offer that included him sitting out games, and the league almost certainly wanted an acknowledgement of contrition from Brady.
I know that the ride-or-die Brady defenders will find a way to explain everything, but seriously? He destroyed his cell phone just after spending several days getting his story straight with the equipment guys? Per Albert Breer’s Twitter:
The decision says that on or about 3/6/15, Brady instructed his assistant to destroy his cell phone. He was interviewed by Wells on 3/6/15.
… Decision also asserts Brady knew Wells wanted information from the phone for the investigation before 3/6, destroyed the phone anyway.
Brady communicated to the commissioner that he routinely destroys his phone for security reasons.
On Page 12 of the decision, NFL says that Brady didn’t destroy the previous cell phone he had.
Through the process, Brady did express a desire to those involved put this to bed with a deal, but wasn’t willing to accept guilt.
It’s not the crime, it’s the cover-up. Even if Tom Brady was pure as snow, his actions post-deflated-balls just makes it look like he was sneaky, shady liar and cheat.
Update: Tom has released a statement on Facebook. Go here to read.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Fame/Flynet.
The NY Post front page this morning reporting that Gisele is in Paris for a boob and eye job. There are photos of her exiting a clinic in a burka. Hire new PR, Tom!
Shouldn’t she be with her husband in his hour of need?
A crisis is when your true character is revealed..
BINGO. I think his “punishment” is a joke. Too bad the comish is besties with the Pats owner, Robert Kraft.
Way to send a message to the youth about cheating Roger. 😉
THIS…to the nth degree. He is & always has been a sneaky, shady liar and cheat just as Kaiser said
anyone who thought this guy had any sense of morality or fairness needs to go way back in time when he dumped his newly impregnated girlfriend Bridget Monahan for the VS Model. Tom Brady has always shown himself to be a cheating liar who seems to think societal norms and rules should not apply to him, in a more extreme manner, in at least 2 key aspects of his life (work and love life). Talk about white male privilege.
It’s only 4 games, get a grip. Move on and accept it and it will be forgotten in 4 friggin’ games.
And the Patriots do have a good, young baby quarterback. Quite cute too.
The problem is that the NFL has not formed any procedures or protocols in their dealings with players. A players involved in spousal abuse or drugs have gotten a slap on the wrist while Tom gets suspended for four games because he “might have known” about deflated balls? The report about this whole deflate gate is all smoke and mirrors, bad science and bad investigating. It was just a matter of one lined pocket lining another’s.
Don’t care, they are all jerks in my book.
And Goodell seems to be using the “more probable than not” standard when courts have held that a suspension must meet the tougher “clear and convincing” standard
Brady has released a response on Facebook. And it certainly looks like the players association is taking this to court where it belonged from the start. Goodell’s decision, in the realm of administrative law, is basically that Goodell’s earlier decision was not arbitrary or capricious, because, Goodell would be unbiased in deciding that he himself was not arbitrary or capricious.
Speaking as a labor attorney, if the NFL contract did not have provisions for preserving phone data at the start of an investigation and/or did not notify all involved of the need to preserve all such records, than the NFL went beyond the terms of its own contract. We usually make it known to all sides that they must turn over records immediately AND we get court orders for the employee records. The NFL didn’t bother getting a court order.
You make an excellent argument, but the longer this remains as a fight, the longer it remains in the public consciousness, extending out as far to people, like myself, who are not professional sports spectators, but who are getting a really bad taste in their mouths with the bad press of players, lately.
True. But the union has an obligation to all its players, not just Brady, and the NFL side-stepped some major contract provisions and jumped over some statutory provisions as well. The contract requires progressive discipline and consistent discipline and what was handed down is way out of whack with any prior discipline to anyone for failing to cooperate with an investigation and Brady himself had no prior discipline, not even a verbal warning for anything. Additionally, the contract not only does not provide for player discipline for ball tampering but it expressly provides that it is an offense that goes against the team, not a player. I doubt that the next contract will allow for a commissioner to rule on an appeal and will require that everything go straight to an impartial arbitrator. Unfortunately for Brady, arbitration appeals always have a tough fight in the court and there is only a very limited area that the court can review. But, in his favor, the NFL screwed up every single step of the way here. Just last week, they changed the rules for checking ball pressure in such a way that it shows that the methods they used in this instance were flawed, as many, many scientists were pointing out.
To that effect, I recently read an article lately that the NFL has been losing some of its popularity because of all these scandals and mismanagement lately, while the NBA has had a true resurgence. I have no way to verify that claim (the article has a few stats on waning viewership for NFL games and growing viewership for NBA games but like any article, the author could have just been pointing out stats that supported his point of view). I wouldn’t be surprised if it was true though because the NFL is a mess.
No need to get a court order when people are expected to act in good faith. Brady was asked for the phone and directed not to destroy it. He destroyed it anyway. There is a negative inference there. Four games at the beginning of the season is more than fair.
Lilac, I can only tell you that, from a novice and non-fan of pro sports, they all look like spoiled babies, with questionable ethics.
Lookyloo, as I said above, as a labor attorney, unless the contract so provides, and it doesn’t, they had no expectation to access that phone, good faith or otherwise. Court orders are necessary and protect management by showing they did it right. And I would NEVER ask for a union rep’s phone. Ever. It opens management up to all sorts of other charges.
Brady told them he would not be giving access under any circumstances since they have no right to his phone. Then replaced his broken phone with a new one.
It wasn’t news to the NFL that they would not be getting the phone, they just used it as an excuse to uphold.
Apparently owners were pressuring Goodell to uphold it.
LB- the previous commissioner was a lawyer. His decisions made sense. He also used tact over brute force. He preferred to nip things in the bud.
Goodell is a PR guy with no legal background. He makes crazy decisions based on what will look best rather than what follows the CBA and will stand up in court.
He prefers to make controversies known and let them grow. It’s terrible, NFL fans are sick of this petty drama. It’s been scandal after scandal since he got the job. But ratings are up and owners are getting richer and richer…
@Audrey, the NFL itself leaked last week that Brady made a settlement offer but the NFL would reject it because two owners were opposed. If those two owners were AFC, well, it isn’t about cheating
And then Tommy Boy will have to testify – under oath. He’s already shown himself in that presser he had to be a very poor liar. If he lies under oath then…..He is stupid and getting very bad advice. He should have copped to a “misunderstanding” right after the Super Bowl and been done with it. But no. And then to destroy the phone on top of it? Now taking it to court? Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
Nobody testifies in arbitration appeal hearings. The judge decides based on the lower proceedings records, briefs, and lawyer arguments and he testified under oath before Goodell.
He already testified under oath at the appeal hearing. He’s not scared.
Plus the lawsuit which will be filed is a labor dispute. It has nothing to do with evidence and everything to do with whether the NFL violated the CBA
Thanks for your comments lilacflowers. Tom’s facebook sets the record clear about how they already provided everything (records of calls, all texts, etc) to the NFL before he destroyed his phone. No one wants to hear that, and few people really appreciate a legal analysis of the real issues here. It is about something bigger than Tom Brady, and that is why Tom Brady is going to fight. Think about it, perhaps the man is not “dumb” as the simpletons on website chat rooms like to think – did he make it this far being an idiot?
Maybe, just maybe, he isn’t lying and that is why he is willing to put his a$$ on the line. Besides the cries from the NFL that Tom destroyed his cell phone, have they come up with one shred of evidence against him? No. Have they come up with any reliable evidence that the balls were underinflated in the first place? No.
I’m so tired of talking about Brady and his deflated balls.
Just kidding I never grow tired of the opportunity to talk about balls.
Federal court for FOUR games? Is he trying to make A-Rod look sane?
First, four games is a major, almost unheard of penalty. Second, the collective bargaining statute lays out the court process. Federal court is where it belongs by law.
The NY post cover is gross.. Gisele looks amazing to me.
So money and fame don’t make you secure enough to own up to boob job? Who cares?
They were caught cheating b4, taping practices of other teams, I’m sure many teams cheat but they got caught, he got away twice b4, enough. You illegally modified your ball to suit your game, got caught, denied it, got caught lying and can’t accept sentence. Grow up and man up. What about the actual every Joes who did his bidding? Fired. 4 game suspension is nothing, maybe he should fight this hard to get their jobs back
Yes, talk about a team that has been coddled the whole way. All of their trophies should come with asterisks. Bellicheat should have been banned as a coach ages ago.
If I didn’t know better, I would say the games are fixed, because if the NFL was an “ethical” sport, the ramifications for this team, over the years, would have been far greater.
I am sure all the Jets fans are laughing.
You have no idea what you’re talking about.
They never taped practices, they taped signals during games. The practice rumor was shut down by everybody, including the guy who started the rumor. The paper which published it took out a full page apology ad.
They also only taped from the wrong location, taping signals is still perfectly legal and done by every team.
The location was also not illegal until 2006, they won their super bowls years before that so saying tainted trophies is ridiculous.
Goodell was a new commissioner who gave a huge penalty just to show who’s in charge
Yeah, okay right…..other than Pasty fans, I don’t think most NFL fans would agree with you, especially Jets fans.
They’re facts, not opinion. Except for why goodell was so harsh, that was rumor
But I wouldn’t expect Jets fans to agree.
Those would be the Jets who just lost a draft pick because they cheated by player tampering, right?
I am NOT a Jets fan, so don’t get your knickers in a twist. The Pats are one of the most hated, and distrusted, teams in the NFL. It’s interesting how defensive Pats fans get though-LOL!!!
You can deny their shady past all you want, but most fans don’t agree, just read the boards at ESPN or the NFL.com. I am certainly not in a minority, not even here. 😉
Pats fans are overly-defensive because they know that a couple of the Brady-era ‘Bowl wins weren’t legit. Seriously, when your biggest celebrity defender is Mark Wahlberg, you got problems.
I did not see my first response go through, so if this is a duplicate, I apologize.
While I am not a Jets fan, trying to use their transgressions as an excuse to mitigate what the Pats have done over the years, doesn’t wash. Two wrongs do not not make a right, nor does it cancel out bad behavior.
The Pats are one of the most disliked, and distrusted, teams in the league. If you don’t believe me, read the many comments on this site, ESPN and the NFL.com. I really don’t seem to be in a minority when it comes to disliking the team or the coach. Furthermore, if you are going to claim sour apples on my part, my team has beaten yours in two Superbowls and we have total of eight trophies in their case. So, I really have no reason to hate New England, except for all the nonsense that has come out over the years.
Your entitled to your opinions, as am I, my feelings about the team are negative and won’t change…moving on….
ARE YOU KIDDING ME…I wouldn’t let anyone look through my text messages and I’m a nobody! He may have had compromising pics of Gisele on there, he may have been pissed off at certain teammates or Bellicheck, and made some nasty comments…WTF would he put that in the hands of these witchhunters??????
He is also the team’s union representative and management has very, very limited rights, (essentially none) to have access to any union communications on any subject.
He had the option of his reps to got through is phone and only release the information that pertained to the situation at hand. So no one would have seen anything that he didn’t want to be seen.
And they got all the pertanent texts and calls from the service provider from the dates in question, according to Brady…where is the problem?
His attorney was told that Tom could just release the pertinent texts and omit any personal texts. Given this allowance the decision to destroy evidence seems like a terrible choice.
They gave the NFL logs of his calls and texts and all requested emails. He offered to identify numbers so the people could be asked for copies of texts. The NFL said that was too much work (despite spending $50 million and months looking for dirt).
It was a fishing expedition. The NFL is looking for dirt and not finding any pissed them off
The offer was made to him that he could go through the phone and release to the NFL any pertinent texts and they wouldn’t have even had to go through it. He could have given them a few bones and deleted the rest and THEN destroyed the phone saying he had already cooperated with what he was asked to do. Dumb.
Read Tom’s comment, they provided the NFL with all pertinent texts and calls for the dates requested!
4 games for deflating a ball.
2 games for beating your wife unconscious.
I have a hard time getting into NFL games these days.
$250,000 fine for murdering two people.
Yeah, it sucks if he’s a cheater and he deserves to be punished, but he is being so much more vilified by the NFL and in the press than these f’ing wife beaters and murderers, it’s ridiculous and fury inducing.
Well look at it this way. Professional football playing is a career . Just like acting. Chris Brown and Charlie Sheen are known abusers but they are still working. Hollywood didn’t fire them. What Rice did was dispictable but it had nothing to do with his job. What Brady did directly impacted his job, therefore his employers took action against him. Do you think there are not any domestic abusers working in cooporate America. They might have abused their spouses but they are working because it didn’t impact their job.
At least where I work if you get arrested for domestic abuse you are suspended until the outcome of your case .
NFL has been all over the map when it comes to discipline and the players. Spouse abusers walk free, while Tom is suspended for four games on charges they couldn’t prove. I can’t wait for Tom and his lawyers take it to court and beat Godell to a pulp. All Godell is interested in is making lots of money for an organization that is non profit!! There needs to be a complete overhaul of the NFL and actual procedures and protocols on exactly how to handle players.
I am so with you, Stellainnh!!!!!!
I went to college with the (beautiful, but douchey) QB they drafted in 2014. Everybody’s pretty pumped about the fact that he’ll get some serious playing time. He got a ring for very little playing time, but now the pressure is on! It’ll be awesome!
The baby QB is beautiful, isn’t he? Sorry to hear he’s douch-y. I am looking forward to seeing what he can do. NFL owners may have miscalculated
On the one hand, destroying his cell phone makes him look terribly guilty.
On the other, I wouldn’t give my cell phone over to anyone.
And he destroyed it AFTER the NFL told his legal team they had all they needed.
Not sure why, but his Facebook statement showing the “like” from Gisele Bündchen is cracking me up.
There are some people that will defend Brady no matter what. Even if he came out and said I cheated, there would those that would argue well everybody cheats. There is no reasoning with those people. But it is ridiculous to me that this guy told the NFL he destroyed his phone, which is his precedent for all his cellphones but then they find and get information from older phones that he did not destroy and provided information on. Whether he thought as a member of the union he didn’t have to turn it over, it looks bad. Besides he had the option of providing selected text messages from that phone had he not destroyed it, which he couldn’t do because oh gee he destroyed the phone. He may argue he did nothing wrong, but if that’s your defense you look guilty as hell and worst like you’re trying to obstruct the investigation.
Besides the NFL filing in New York to avoid judges like Doty in Minnesota it seems unlikely to get overturned anyway. The already overwhelmed court system hardly wants court dockets overloaded with arbitration cases. I can’t stand the NFL (for a whole host of reasons besides their capricious punishments) but to the NFL this became an integrity of the game issue. Yes it’s crazy that women beaters, rapists, and drunk drivers that kill people get off with lenient punishments (which I detest), but I’m sorry but for the vast majority of the NFL public outside of New England this whole thing raises questions about public confidence in the NFL, which is potentially more damaging to the game than having people like Greg Hardy play (though just as problematic in my opinion). Anyway it was not in Tom Brady’s best interest to drag this out but whatever floats his boat.
If it were really about the integrity of the game, Goodell would have turned it over to an impartial arbitrator, but he didn’t, and he would have taken Brady’s settlement offer, but he didn’t
From what I read Tom Brady was also offered a settlement offer if I’m not mistaken. You can correct me if i’m wrong but the parties couldn’t come to an agreement http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000504228/article/nfl-nflpa-exchange-offers-on-brady-settlement. The issue is that the NFLPA agreed to allow the commissioner to hear the appeal because The NFL negotiated that into the current CBA with the NFLPA in 2011 (which both parties agreed to). I’m getting this from this link: http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/125285764/nfl-commissioner-roger-goodell-appeal-arbitrator-nflpa-deflategate. You can argue if Goodell is an impartial arbitrator (we both know he’s not but that becomes irrelevant because the NFLPA agreed to it), and I agree that it’s problematic but it’s what the NFLPA agreed to so I think it ultimately means Tom Brady is screwed. He will have to sit out four games, the question remains will they be minor ones at the beginning of the season or will this be drawn out and he may have to sit out games in December or January, which will be much more costly for the Patriots. I maintain knowing all this beforehand, Tom Brady should have settled for a one or two game suspension beforehand and moved on but the way things stand now he’s dragging this out, and he probably will have to still sit out anyway and his reputation regarding his actions still gets called into question. If the NFL felt they were in the right (which they obviously think they are) it would make little sense for them to take Brady’s settlement offer and they obviously feel comfortable in their position taking this to court.
Actually, layday, the fact that the NFL agreed to it in the contract is irrelevant if they can show to the appeals court that Goodell, while acting as arbitrator, failed to act in an impartial manner – that is one of the statutory grounds for overturning an arbitration decision. It is difficult to prove, but, of course, all of the statutory grounds for overturning an arbitration decision are difficult to prove and arbitration awards are rarely overturned – and I say this as a labor attorney who has managed to overturn multiple arbitration awards. That management thinks it is in the right does not mean management is in the right – we labor lawyers spend a great deal of time telling our clients that the law does not support their position but do what you’re going to do and we’ll try to clean up your mess. Also, the players union can take this to court without Brady because the precedents set here, such as a lower standard of proof for a suspension, discipline for failing to hand over an actual personal telephone, inconsistent discipline for the same offense, failure to follow contractual standards of progressive discipline, etc. affect every member of the union. They also mark the NFL as a really, really bad employer.
The NFLPA filing today explains the Goodell issues. The CBA allows him to arbitrate only if his own actions aren’t part of the grievance in which case the parties must agree to an impartial arbitrator. The CBA does not allow him to delegate disciplinary authority, which he did in this case. NFLPA grieved Goodell’s improper delegation of discipline and requested an impartial arbitrator. Good ell denied the request for an impartial, ruled that his own violation of the CBA wasn’t a violation, and then ruled on the disciplinary decision itself. Despite having courts rule it was improper to do this multiple times in the past year alone.
Destroying that cell phone just makes what he did even shadier since he’s fighting it and proclaiming his innocence. I would just have rather him admit to it and move on and it would have blown over or just accept the punishment. Don’t come out proclaiming your innocence and destroy all evidence so blatantly showing you have a lot to hide. I don’t even care about deflategate as much as I am turned off by such hypocrisy on his part.
Agree!! C’mon Tommy, put on your big boy pants and just get your punishment over with. What sissy boy!
The accuser, judge, and now appellate judge (all one person) issues a ridiculous ruling & I like Tom’s statement on facebook. Goodell is an egomaniac. If there were any incriminating texts to those equipment guys, they would ALREADY have come out because the equipment guys have already handed over their phones. It is hard to believe the lynch mob is overlooking that. Goodell bumbled this thing from the start and he can’t even prove that the balls were underinflated. Now, his bruised ego over his mishandling of all the other real crises in the NFL is making him act foolish.
We love you, Tom! Sue their butts.
You can’t just explain destroying your cell phone away. I didn’t really have an opinion about Brady because I think football is just as fun as watching paint dry. But that’s pretty guilty behavior and I don’t buy the “But I always destroy my old cell phone when I get a new one” excuse.
Yeah this is really my only feeling, the idea that he’s concerned about sensitive information getting out so he has his phone destroyed…by his assistant.
Uh, bad lie dude. If anyone was going to leak your ‘sensitive’ information in the first place it’d be an assistant. How many celebrity video leaks have occured by someone that had access to something that was part of their normal job routine and decided to go for the payday?
Amy – I don’t buy the “But I always destroy my old cell phone when I get a new one” excuse.
Especially when he just gave them the old phone he had before the phone he destroyed. He deserves 4 games just for being so stupid.
It’s the cover-up that always gets you.
The more Tom Brady talks, the more defenders he loses. Just take your suspension and go home. You’ll make the playoffs anyway.
HA!
That is all.
Do you think he’ll get into that country club NOW????
The Country Club just scored the 2022 U.S. Open without opening it up to public discussion as to whether the same community that shot down the 2024 Olympics wants to be immobilized by golfers. If they don’t admit them, Giselle should blast loud music from the house every day of the tournament
It’s always the cover up, and apparently he didn’t tell much of his defenders about destroying the phone and they got blindsided when it was revealed. Of course they have to keep defending his honor and character now though, there’s still room to dig.
And no matter how light the punishment his character will always be in question. That’s gotta a blow to anyone’s ego.
Reminds me of my younger years. You know…really hot guy everybody crushes on and You-yes you-get to go out with him and the second he opens his mouth the douche emerges im a major way. Hate when that happens.
I just read an interesting piece on CNN. The more I read, the more baffling Goodell and the NFL becomes.
Of the phone/text messages:
In an arbitration hearing, Brady’s representatives offered to provide the league with a spreadsheet identifying all of the people with whom Brady had exchanged text messages during the period in question. Brady’s agents suggested that the NFL contact the relevant parties and ask them to provide texts sent by Brady.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that would have been “impractical.”
What??
In addition to having all of the texts from the equipment guys who allegedly deflated balls, Brady offered Goodell a list from the phone provider of exeryone he texted so Goodell could go and get their text messages too? And he didn’t do it? Why? Because he doesn’t care about the truth, just exonerating his tarnished image.
Don’t care if he did or didn’t really.. It’s not over till it’s over and several QB have attested to how they like there footballs one being Aron Rodgers likes his very firm. They all do it..I am more concerned with Goddell and him more interested in his own image.. He needs gone .. Now it goes to federal court and you can expect this to get more then nasty and I am not sure that the NFL is going to squeak out of this.. Pats will go all out because bottom line it doesn’t matter what happens good or bad they will always be the scapegoats. There is no way the players union should have agreed to someone over seeing there own punishment.. No one has a hope. Since when do you put the same for an appeal process. What a waste.. Regardless of what happens Brady is an exceptional players and I am not even an Pats fan to clarify.. There will be more then Brady go down on this one. Players and management and NFL directors
And the Pats play GB in pre-season. Every move Rogers makes will be challenged, although I don’t think GB was one of the three teams that opposed settlement. That smell seems to be coming out of several AFC cities
Miami, Cincinnati, Tennessee, and Houston. Those are the teams whose NFLPA reps pooh-poohed the settlement. So yeah, the stench of AFC is strong, @Lilac.
Brady should get a fine, have to do some kind of public-outreach work, and maybe resign his union rep job…all reasonable solutions Goddell chose to ignore. And why not have the NFL supply the balls instead of the individual teams? That way, the refs can check them for proper inflation.
All this talk about football is making me wish fall would hurry up and get here…GO PACK!
Every one in America thinks this is a Tom Brady/Patriots story. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is an American story, plain and simple. The Patriots are being punished not because they cheated but because their constant winning is seen as an insult to all the other franchises. That they make it look so easy seems to make a mockery of the whole sport and everyone part of it; organizations think to themselves, “hey, when is it going to be my turn?” Athletes think, we’re so great and they’re not; somethings not right. A lot of hypocrisy and projection. An honest person doesn’t question what Tom says. A dishonest person or a person who’s been around the league does. What does that infer? Projection. Most organizations and many many Americans cheat. It’s a rich thing then to see all these fingers pointed. As a Pats fan I can tell you there are a lot of us that were hoping for this outcome. We want this to go to court. Should be fun.
Bull. NFL fans don’t envy the Pats the way they did the insufferably pious 70’s Cowboys, who won with machine-like implacability. No pro ball fan would trade their team for the Pats like they might the 70’s Steelers or 80’s Niners. The Pats are the accidental winners of the parity-era. Brady is 4 for 7 in in Super Bowls, which is hardly a superstar record. If not for one play-calling gaffe last February the Pats would be 3 for 7, because the Seahawks were clearly driving to win on reeling N.E. I say they’re a 2 for 7 “dynasty” because the Rams ran up and down the field on them in Bowl 36.
The Pats are more comparable to the Jim Kelly-era Buffalo Bills: sometimes pretty to look at, but soft and feckless. I pity New England fans who claim that the Pats are a great dynasty. The resurgent Red Sox, there is a great dynasty. These Pats aren’t fit to carry John Hannah’s jock.
Brady has not played in 7 Super Bowls so no, he is not 4 for 7. Try 4 for 6. The Patriots as a team are 4 for 8 with John Hannah’s jock strap participating in one of those losses, Brady was 8 years old at the time and many more players had not been born. The other loss was in 1996. The resurgent Red Sox? You might want to check those statistics.
Fine, call ’em 3 for 6, because they clearly won on a fluke against the Seahawks.
The reason most fan think the Pats are soft, unworthy and suspect them of cheating is that their record or real dominance is so thin compared to their number of championships. They were crushed by two Giants teams who were hardly all-world. The Rams blew their Bowl win with turnovers; they weren’t beaten by the Pats. People don’t respect the Pats because there’s so little to respect.