Blog Post #9

Deflate-gate is a rising conflict coming up recently in the NFL involving the New England Patriots. The problem is that eleven of the twelve Patriots footballs that they supplied were below the regulated 12.5 psi requirement and for most footballs under by only a notch. The incident occurred during the AFC Conference Championship Game where the New England Patriots routed the Indianapolis Colts 45-7. The deflation of footballs is only a very minimal advantage if even an advantage. The supposed advantages are widely exaggerated and made-up. There is but only circumstantial evidence that links quarterback Thomas Patrick Brady to the deflation of footballs. The evidence presented that accuses Brady would not stand up in the court of law and is been compared to a witch hunt.

Ted Wells compiled a 243 page report accusing Tom Brady of being guilty of knowing about the deflation of footballs. The report was very faulty in logic as it demands for a brash penalty against the Patriots when there is only circumstantial evidence. Most of the evidence can be turned around and is not hard concrete evidence. The report already has bias as Ted Wells has already been known to have a dislike towards quarterback Tom Brady. After a recent interview, Ted Wells exploded in an outrage due to the fact that many people were questioning the legitimacy of the report. I believe this evidence is not enough to come to the conclusion that Brady did do the crime; I am not saying Brady did not know about it if the deflation was on purpose I am only saying if the NFL is going to make a ruling on this matter they must have hard evidence clearly linking Brady and the Patriots to purposely deflating the footballs.

The NFL issued a four game suspension to Brady a one million dollar fine and the loss of two draft picks to the New England Patriots. Roger Goodell issued the ruling and now has named himself the unbiased arbitrator in the ruling of the appeal. I disagree with the severity of this ruling as I would not take away two draft picks and issue a four game suspension off of accusations and circumstantial evidence. The deflation of footballs is not even a serious issue and is much less than all the recent issues among the NFL. I believe the Dallas Cowboys should be under much more scrutiny right now as they have signed Greg Hardy recently convicted of child abuse, domestic violence, and has had a deep criminal history before. The Cowboys also signed L’ael Collins who is involved in an ongoing murder investigation and drafted Randy Gregory who fell in the draft due to his criminal record and off the field issues. The Cowboys are also one of the teams interested in Ray Rice or Adrian Peterson. The NFL ruling on Brady when in perspective to the way they are handling domestic violence is far more harsh.

If I was in charge, I would only issue a hefty fine as of now with the evidence collected. The investigation should keep going on and if there is concrete evidence than I would make a ruling of a suspension of Brady for 2 games and a loss of a 4th round draft pick. The problem aligns with the explanation provided by physics in the Ideal Gas Law which could offer an explanation given to why the balls were deflated due to weather condition. I would continue to review this situation and see how it progresses over time.