The NFL suspended New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for four games after a report was found that he was aware of the deflation of footballs before the AFC Championship game in January.
In addition to Brady’s suspension without pay, the Patriots were fined $1 million and lost two draft picks.
The Patriots also suspended the two equipment staffers believed to have carried out the plan, including one who called himself “The Deflator.”
Officials’ locker room attendant Jim McNally and equipment assistant John Jastremski were both suspended indefinitely last week. Neither can be reinstated without the approval of the NFL, the league said.
It’s fair that the NFL decided to discipline Brady and the Patriots for deflating the footballs below regulated size.
The NFL allows each team to provide the footballs used by its offense in every game – a procedure most quarterbacks take an active part in – but it requires them to be inflated in that range of 12.5-13.5 pounds per square inch.
Footballs with less pressure can be easier to grip and catch, and Brady has expressed a preference for them.
They think that they did nothing wrong, thinking they didn’t violate the rules of the game, but clearly they did.
A true MVP would take responsibility for his actions, both right and wrong.
In explaining Monday’s discipline announcement, the NFL said the team was penalized for “the violation of the playing rules and the failure to cooperate in the subsequent investigation.”
It was announced Wednesday that the team will appeal to overturn his suspension. Why? He should own up to it and say that he knew about the deflation of the footballs and that his punishment is fair.
Take responsibility for your actions, Brady, and be a true “patriot.”
The Patriots blew out the Indianapolis Colts, 45-7, in that AFC Championship game, so it is hard to say if the properly inflated balls would have changed the outcome.
I may not be a big football fan, but I know what is right and what is not. Deflating footballs to a size below its regulated size is wrong.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft criticized the investigation and said Brady had the team’s “unconditional support” and that its “belief in him has not wavered.”
They said that the punishment “far exceeded any reasonable expectation.”
The day after the punishment was announced, the Patriots changed their Twitter avatar to Brady’s No. 12 jersey.
The 243-page report by league-appointed attorney Ted Wells said it was “more probable than not” that Brady was aware of plans to prepare the footballs to his liking, below the NFL-mandated minimum of 12.5 pounds per square inch.
Brady will miss the games against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and Dallas Cowboys and won’t return until mid-October when the team plays, guess who, the Colts.
For any games he will miss, Brady is scheduled to be replaced by backup Jimmy Garoppolo, a 2014 second-round pick from Eastern Illinois who won the Walter Payton Award as the best player in the FCS.
Garoppolo has thrown just 27 NFL passes so far, including one touchdown.
The $2.6 billion team finished with a record of 12-4 last season and won the Super Bowl, its fourth title since Brady arrived in 2001.
This probably isn’t an isolated incident, either for the team or the whole league.
It will take more than one investigation and one punishment to deal with the situation. Referees and authorized personnel should check the footballs and any other pieces of equipment so something like this does not happen again.
And when something goes wrong and you’re punished for it, take responsibility for your actions.
Jolene Nacapuy, a junior journalism major, is sports editor of the Campus Times. She can be reached by email at jolene.nacapuy@laverne.edu and on Twitter @_jjolenenacapuy.
