True story. My 14 year old daughter asked who was in the SuperBowl again – she’d forgotten. I mentioned the Patriots. She immediately asked: “So, do you think Tom Brady cheated.” This sentence alone, knocked me on my heels just a bit. It was a little window into the pop culture of teenagers obsessed with a million things, but still aware of the notion that Tom Brady is a cheater.
So I began the best fatherly explanation of the whole mess from soup-to-nuts, knowing I had a car ride of just 8 minutes, and the attention span of a teenage girl with her phone in her hand.
I began as if I was reading Genesis 1:1. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…”
I told my daughter that once upon a time, the NFL supplied a regulation set of 12 football (or so..) for BOTH teams to play with. And it wasn’t until some of the higher profile QBs started to complain, and want their own specially rubbed up, brushed, tackified balls to be used.
I think of ALL of the elements of DeflateGate, this is the single most-important fact that gets lost in the rubble. This was all born, of the NFL’s own shortsighted stupidity.
Anyhow, I ticked through as many elements of the saga as I could – my daughter doing a wonderful job of actually listening, absorbing, and adding some pithy zingers of her own along the way.
Given that everyone is expecting a big awkward moment if Brady wins, and Goodell has to hand him the trophy, I thought it was worth going back listing my “10 Shames” of DeflateGate. Things so outrageous on the part of #thisleague and the #redheadedspokesape that they must never, ever, be forgotten.
Well, then I found this awesome encyclopedia by Bruce Allen (no relation) called the “56 Lies of DeflateGate.” It is a spectacular piece, replete with all of the needed hyperlinks to reference do dig down the rabbit hole as far as you like. Most of us hate liars. Everyone hates institutional liars, especially when the lying is brazen, relentless, and done solely for the purpose of shielding the powerful from consequences. Or to avoid just looking stupid. Lying can destroy reputations, and turn lives inside out.
Roger Goodell and his stooges built not just a house of lies in DeflateGate, but a cathedral. There are ornate lies, sweeping lies, and subtle lies, all over the place as you walk around. Like visiting a castle and being told by the tour guide about how certain brick formations were laid deliberately to appear more formidable to opponents than they really are. The kind of thing you would never notice on your own.
And yet sadly, many football fans still think the NFL proved their case: Brady’s a cheat.
The NFL did all of this because they somehow forgot – or chose to ignore – that really smart people… ARE ALSO FOOTBALL FANS! Smart lawyers. Smart scientists. Smart researchers. Smart investigators. And these people ripped the Wells report apart like dobermans on a helpless kitten.
Should Brady win on Sunday, I hope for his sake he just takes the trophy, holds it high, and dedicates it to the team and it’s fans. Classy. Minimalist. Above the fray. A pithy put down to Roger, a quip or a look, oh… it would be nearly irresistible. But it would also be forever. And you just don’t know how that will play in the long lens of history.
Meanwhile the stain on the league from this cathedral of lies? Well…. that, is forever.
14 Comments
James Nicolaou
so does The NFL and Goodell put the fix in against the Pats, so he doesn’t have to face Brady and Kraft for the trophy presentation?
John Huhn
Come on – the “defense” of Tom Brady and the “56 lies the NFL told” provided by an unbiased journalist from MA who covers the Patriots?! How is HE any more credible than the NFL?
Jeff
This article “52 lies” article laughable glances over a few things……does anyone really think those “deflator” nicknames were about losing weight?……when they first questioned the guy about using that bathroom with the balls en route; he said he used a urinal, but that bathroom had no urinal in it (did he just piss in the sink by mistake?)….That first press conference after it came out, Brady stood up there dumbfounded in front of the reporters before he could get his story straight….I could go on, but sorry for having a few doubts about a story written by a Boston coloumnist on this issue. I’m just gonna sit back and think Roger finally got one right.
Jim O'C
Sadly, you didn’t answer her question. Forget your anti-Goodell hysteria revived for a moment and come back to reality. Forget your viewpoint on whether the rule is stupid or not. That’s what the experts and scientists weighed in on, the absurdity of the rule and on that point I agree with you. But that is beside the point…it was the rule and the Pats were caught red-handed. Period.
Did TB and the ball boys cheat? Without question. Did Brady obstruct the investigation knowingly and willfully? Without question. Not the move of an innocent man. All the rest is just noise to try to make Goodell look bad (newsflash, he doesn’t need help). And a win in SBLI doesn’t vindicate TB, it only means he won this year (dare I say, didn’t get caught?). May this be the last post about TBs balls!
American soldiers
You show your ineptitude did they cheat “without a doubt” you need to read. Explain the 3/4 colts balls that were deflated. Brady never cheated he went under oath still the only one to do that. You wrong on his obstruction as well. Read the wells. ” Mr Brady cooperated fully” He was told by wells the cellphone wasn’t needed. They had the msgs printed and the other 2 guys phones. So if Brady sent them a msg they’d have it but as wells said we have no proof linking Brady to a scheme. The cell destroyed was a ploy after gooddonkey lost and had to change tactics. Hate if you want but Brady is class and the greatest QB in HX. Before you type check your facts.
Glenn D
You sir still don’t get it.
Jay
Did Brady cheat NO! If Brady had been cheating the NFL would have dragged out the stats from the following year showing that the weather had no effect on the footballs, that all that data was lost or ignored so the NFL had it wrong.
Daniel
The Panthers were caught tampering with their footballs two years ago. They paid the small fine that was collectively bargained. Deflategate was a witch hunt, plain and simple.
Just another science guy
While I appreciate your enthusiasm, I think it would benefit you to review all the facts. See, the things you say are not only just your opinion, but fail at many levels to grasp the full context of each claim. There’s a reason the NFL hasn’t released their findings, or punished the Steelers this year for having the same under inflated balls. Not trying to troll you, just really suggest you read the whole set of facts, preferably while suspending your bias.
Chris
Wow, bud, you’ve got a lot of “without questions” in there on items that are anything but “without question”.
You have a dated and time stamped photo of Brady or any of the ball boys letting air out of the balls? Are you a mindreader that lives inside Tommy Brady’s head and knows everything he knows and does and his reasons for doing so? Then your entire post is horseshit.
This League couldn’t even prove demonstrably that the balls were or were not inflated to the minimum required pressure.
The Porkchop
Good christ*^^* really? On purpose or not, this is just stupid. My oldest son lives in Boston and I’d like nothing more than to hate the pats, but shit, they’re just that fucking good. Flat balls or not. This is dumb. Go pack Go!
Eric O
Jim O’C your ignorance and jealously is humorous and downright entertaining.
Eric K
Jim o’c if you weren’t so lazy sitting up on your high horse of righteousness, you would have taken a couple of minutes and clicked on the link from Bruce Allen. After reading it you will realize everything you stated is a lie and realize that your just helpeing Goddell with his propoganda
Mark
If he HAD cheated, don’t you think his performance since then would generally be at least slightly worse? Wouldn’t ALL of the balls been significantly lower than minimum? I believe he had the balls at the minimum and some of them naturally lost a smidgen during play. And I’m NOT a Pats fan.