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Patriots Deflate Footballs in Cheating Scandal
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
January 21, 2015
All Rights Reserved.
Faced with escalating scandal regarding the New
England Patriots deflating footballs used the Jan. 18 American Football League
Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts, 55-year-old NFL Commissioner
Roger Goodell walks a tightrope.
Less than two weeks from the Super Bowl playing last year’s champs the Seattle
Seahawks, Goodell must conduct an impartial investigation no matter how damaging
to the NFL or, for that matter, the profits from the Feb. 1 Super Bowl at
University of Phoenix stadium in Glendale, Arizona. While most insiders don’t expect
Goodell to disqualify the New England Patriots, they also expect the hammer to
come down hard in the way of fines, suspensions and forfeited future draft
picks. League officials confirmed
Jan. 20 that 11 of the Patriots’ 12 game-footballs were deflated two pounds
below the league minimum of 11.5 pounds per square inch.
After limping out of the so-called Spygate scandal where Patriots’ Coach
Bill Belichick admitted to videotaping New York Jets’ defensive coaches signals
Sept. 9, 2007, the NFL fined Belichick $500,000 and Patriots $250,000, docking
the team their 2008 first-round draft pick. Considering the magnitude of
Sunday’s infraction during the AFC Championship Game, the punishment should be
far more draconic, considering the egregious rules violation. NFL’s Troy Vincient refused to
comment further given the “investigation is currently underway and we’re still
awaiting findings.” Where the buck
stops is anyone’s guess but 37-year-old three-time Super Bowl champion
quarterback Tom Brady and Coach Bill Belichick are at the top. Whatever advantage the deflated
footballs gave Brady in his 45-7 rout of the Colts is not relevant: What matters is the premeditated
cheating.
Already under the gun for his mishandling of the Minnesota Vikings
running back Adrian Peterson and Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice child
and domestic abuse scandals, Goodell doesn’t have much room for error. Goodell must stand for the integrity of the game, not how much embarrassment or profit is
lost from Super Bowl. NFL Vice President Michael Signora told media outlets, “we are not commenting on the
matter at this time,” realizing potential damage to the league office. Several reputable media outlets have
reported facts not in question regarding 11 of the 12 Patriots’ game balls
deflated by two pounds. Who
deflated the balls or on whose orders has not been admitted to by NFL or the
Patriots. NFL officials aren’t
trying to ascertain facts related to the deflated footballs, they’re trying to
figure out how to mete out the appropriate punishment to save the NFL’s
credibility.
Losing to the Patriots 35-31 Saturday, Jan. 10 AFC Divisional Playoff,
Baltimore Ravens personnel also complained about irregularities with proper ball
inflation. “Baltimore kicking and
punting units were not getting their normal depth and distance, and some
believed the balls there were using may have been deflated,” reported CBS
Sports’ Jason La Canfora.. How many
other games during the season the Patriots deflated Brady’s game-balls to his
liking is anyone’s guess. If they
did it in the AFC championship, they could have done it before. “Two pounds may not sound like a
whole lot,” wrote CBS Sports Jared Dubin.
“But the NFL mandates that game-ready footballs be inflated between 11.5
and 12.5 pounds of air. As noted by
Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel, a two-pound under-inflation means the balls were
approximately 16% less inflated than normal,” giving Brady and the Patriots and
unfair advantage.
When your consider the gravity of the infraction, especially if coming
from the Belichick and Brady, Goodell should consider disqualifying the New
England Patriots from the 2015 Super Bowl, replacing them with the runner-up
Indianapolis Colts. Simply fining
or restricting future draft picks is not enough to stop teams, like the
Patriots, from deliberately cheating.
If the NFL has zero tolerance for Performance Enhancing Drugs or for
domestic or child abuse, they certainly should have the same policy for
premeditated cheating. Even fining
or suspending Belichick or Brady for next season doesn’t do justice for yet
another Patriots’ cheating scandal.
Responding to Boston sports-talk WEEI-FM, Brady called the charges “ridiculous.” “I think I’ve heard it all at this
point,” Brady laughed. “That’s the
last of my worries. I don’t even
respond to stuff like this,” dismissing the charges.
When the NFL gets to the bottom of the Deflategate charges, Belichick and
Brady will do more than deny or laugh on sports talk radio. Laughing it off carries serious
risks for Brady as a potential Hall of Fame quarterback. Just as PED use would keep someone
out of the Hall, premeditated cheating would certainly do the same. NFL officials promised to get to the
bottom of the Deflategate scandal, pinpointing who ordered the game-balls
deflated, where it was performed and why no league referees noticed until an
intercepted Patriots’ game-ball was brought to the ref’s attention before
halftime. “11 of 12 balls
under-inflated can anyone spell cheating!!! (hash). Just Saying,” was tweeted by Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice. With the clock ticking on the Super
Bowl, Goodell must get it right or risk damage to the NFL’s credibility,
including seriously jeopardizing his own job.
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