I have been a New England
Patriots fan all my life, even though I grew up a solid 3000 miles from old
Sullivan Stadium in Southern California. My Dad is from north of Boston
(Peabody), and I still have family in Peabody and Salem, and other parts of New
England, to this day. I met my Wife (who is from New England) and moved to the area, and lived there for a decade. With such a tie to the area, and with no great love for
the Rams or Raiders, the link was an easy one for me. For me to say what I am
going to say in this post, you need to know that about me. This is not some
sour grapes fan of another franchise trashing the Patriots for all of their
transgressions and successes in the last 15 years. This is a homer speaking to
you from a place of loathing.
A ruling came down from
the Manhattan courts today that effectively nullified both the suspension that
had been levied on Tom Brady for the so called “Deflategate” scandal that has
bored us for months on end with its never ending processes and procedures. The
ruling may have also effectively nullified the power of Roger Goodell to rule
over the NFL kingdom as commissioner moving forward, as Judge Richard M. Berman
pulled the pin on the worst nightmare grenade for the NFL and its disciplinary
processes moving forward. The gates are open, and the inmates are streaming out
of the asylum from here on out. Lock your doors and windows, as things are
about to get ugly.
Apparently, in the modern
era of star struck judges (this means you Berman, Lance Ito of modern day hacks
on the bench), the tail has now been allowed to completely wag the dog, and
this court made it legal to do so. What today’s ruling means is that the child
got busted for doing something really stupid, which effectively may have
severely damaged the reputation of the family. The parent laid out discipline
that was none too pleasing to the child (anyone else ever been grounded as a kid? You
know what I mean), and the crazy great uncle that pops in and out of the
picture came about and said that the punishment was too strict and that he was
going to nullify it. At this point, the parent has no ground to stand on,
because the kids will just call crazy Uncle Bob every time they do something
stupid to get out of whatever punishment ensues.
Tom Brady is a major
league asshole. I am saying this as a Patriots fan of more than 30 years. Take
it from this guy, who saw three young girls under the age of 12 approach him at
Logan Airport, where he was doing absolutely nothing, to ask for a photograph,
only to be told “I don’t think so” by Mr. Charming. At the end of the day,
Brady cares nothing about anyone other than himself, and it is evident when you
see him interact with most of his teammates on the field, who give him a wide
birth and practically carry on like he doesn’t exist. What Brady did, and he
did do it, was basically something that benefitted him. Damn the consequences,
because according to the bench hack Berman, there shouldn’t be any. What Brady
did was akin to turning the rules of the NFL into a sort of perspective based
thing that means what he thinks it means, not what it necessarily says. Brady
destroying his phone before meeting with the investigating team was absolutely
a smoking gun as to wrongdoing, because who destroys their old phone? He wasn’t
hiding anything on the phone itself, because everyone knows that the storage
device is the SIM card. Everyone knows that, and if you even try to come up
with anything other than that being the case, than you are basically an idiot.
Brady deserved every bit
of his four game suspension that was handed down by Goodell. What Brady did by
being an active participant (and he was) in deflating footballs to fit his
“likes” is firmly established as being a breach of NFL rules. Is he the only
one that engages in the doctoring of game balls in the league? Hell no, but he
got caught, and the others didn’t. Serving the time at that point is the only
reasonable effect of that cause. Of
course, Pretty Boy Tommy doesn’t follow the rules like the rest of us. He’s too
good for that, and was so absolutely arrogant that he thought he could
negotiate terms of his reprisal for his actions. He was willing to accept a one
game suspension. I was willing to see his arrogant ass get whacked to the
fullest extent of the rules, but only people like Tom Brady get their way,
apparently.
The four game suspension
was just, and was a direct reflection of Brady’s total disregard for what the
shield containing three letters is supposed to stand for. His actions were a
damning reflection in a league that young people look up to every day as a
standard bearer for what sport should be. We know now that this standard bearer
thing is an illusion, because it seems that a Manhattan court just told the
inmates that there are no longer standards, and the powers that be can no
longer levy discipline as needed without having to look over their shoulders.
What we saw today was a
negative precedent being set to all athletes, professional and amateur, now
have the ability to call foul when they get hammered for their fouls.
Discipline is not for the star class of professional sports any longer, because
they can always find another Lance Ito, or Richard Berman to get completely
awed by their presence, and overturn whatever those devils operating the day to
day operations of leagues decide to wield. This is bad in so many ways, that it
cannot be conceived of the damage done.
The NFL has an image
problem right now, as does the NBA to a great degree. We saw between 25 and 30
off-season arrests of NFL players just since the last Super Bowl, and that list
is sure to increase. It was widely believed that NFL owners were tired of
having their off field dirt being more of the headline than what was happening
on the field. It was supposed to be bad for business. The ownership of the NFL
can no longer tout this endless crap, because they seem to be readily be
accepting the responsibility by drafting these idiots, and continuing to allow
them onto the field, and cash their huge signing bonuses. They aren’t giving
Roger Goodell enough backing to do the job that he was supposed to do, and
therefore, with so little backing, the players association has been allowed to
run amuck in challenging every single disciplinary issue, up to and including
Brady.
Goodell was brought
onboard to clean up a mess, to deliver an iron fist when necessary, and bring
the league back into the shining standing it once had as far as public
perception was concerned about their product. What the average fan has done is
continue to pour their money into a product that now not only defers bad
behaviors, but encourages them. As long as judges like Berman preside over such
things, this isn’t going to stop, and now MLB, NHL, and NBA execs have to shake
in their boots, because this precedent isn’t just about the NFL, it’s about all
of you as well. Good luck in heavy hitting problem children in your leagues, no
matter how great or small in stature or class, because guys like Berman just
pulled the plug on your power drill.
The next time you suspend a player
in any league, you better bring a negotiator…
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