The NFL’s appeal of Tom Brady’s Deflatgate case start- ed March 3, 2016. The appeals included neither Brady, the New England Patriots’ quarter- back under question, or Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League, who gave him the original penalty. Instead the appeal featured hours of arguments between lawyers in front of three judges. During the appeal, Brady’s side did not do very well in an- swering key questions, and the possibility remains that Brady’s suspension will stay on the table.
Deflategate started after the 2015 AFC Championship game between New England and the Indianapolis Colts. It was re- ported that a majority of Patriot footballs were inflated “signifi-cantly” below league standards. Brady and others on the Patriots staff were targets of an investi- gation, and during that offsea- son Brady was suspended four games.
The Patriots also received a one million dollar fine and lost 2016 draft picks. Brady appealed the suspension, and on Sept. 3, 2015 Judge Richard Berman threw out the suspension on the grounds that Brady had been denied due process. The case is now back in court following the NFL’s appeal of Berman’s decision.
During the appeal the major question centered around Brady’s decision to destroy his cellphone. Tom Brady originally received the suspension because the NFL felt that he was involved or knew about the tampering of footballs in order to throw tighter passes.
Brady destroyed his cellphone, and during his court case said that he occasionally destroys his cellphones to maintain privacy. This admission came up during the court sessions in March and the judges were certainly questioning Brady’s reasoning.
The judges of the case all seem to have different thoughts about the possible suspension Brady could receive if he loses this appeal. Judge Barrington Parker Jr. was the most critical of Brady’s case, and Judge Denny Chin also had problems with the way Brady’s lawyer Jeffrey Kessler rationalized destroying the cellphone. Chief Judge Robert Katzmann was the most sympathetic towards Brady.
A decision for Brady and the NFL’s appeal will not be decided for a while, but, according to analysts, Berman’s decision could be overturned. When the case is decided, the NFL will most likely institute a new form of punishment for ball tampering that will be upheld in future cases. The punishment determined by the courts, if Brady is found guilty, may require action that is not on the NFL’s predetermined list of infractions.
Judge Katzmann believes that, because the NFL has not compiled a complete list of penalties for infractions, the judges would require a new form of punishment for Brady’s inability to cooperate with the investigation.
At the very least, Deflate- gate will unjustly tamper Tom Brady’s legacy. Brady has won 4 Super Bowl titles, a feat achieved by his role model, Joe Montana. He and Bill Belichick are the winning-est duo in NFL history as quarterback and coach. Brady has also won the most playoff games as a quarterback in NFL history.
Now, in the minds of many people, there will be an asterisk next to his records that is similar to how the public perceived players who have taken steroids. Hopefully when Brady retires, people will see Deflategate as nothing in the context of his career.
As for the Patriots, they have been hard at work this offseason. They have no idea who their starting quarterback will be at the beginning of the season, but Brady will be absent for four games at most. As for the rest of the team, the Patriots have traded Chandler Jones, their top sack recorder but have signed Chris Long from the St. Louis Rams to replace him. The team also traded draft picks for tight end Martellus Bennett.
New England is currently trying to sign nose tackle Terrance Knighton, and reports say he will most likely join them. So the Patriots are working to better their defense and have already added a second formida- ble tight end to play alongside Rob Gronkowski. They have done all this without pushing their salary cap to the brink of disaster in order to sign big time future free agents next off-season such as Dont’a High- tower, Malcolm Butler and Jamie Collins.
Deflategate has been going on for over a year, and it’s sad that this case has been looming over the NFL for this long. The case should have been handled over the 2015 offseason and never spoken of again. Instead, the Patriots have to sit and wait for a decision to determine who their opening day quarter- back will be. That is unfair to both Tom Brady and the team. Hopefully once this case is determined Brady can finally be freed of this mess and move forward towards ring number five. •
