quote:
So I'm supposed to believe that the story about a guy who was known as "the deflator" in the Wells Report was the product of an agenda-based narrative.

At this point, why would you believe that any report produced by the NFL isn't agenda-based? You think they didn't have an agenda in Bountygate? There was no agenda in Bullygate? Roger Goodell knew absolutely nothing about the Ray Rice tape until TMZ got their hands on it?

I mean, why would they pick Ted Wells to lead the investigation? Why not pick someone with no ties to the league? Why let incorrect and prejudicial media reports sit unchallenged for months without correcting them?

If you have nothing to hide, why not let Brady's lawyers have access to Wells' interview notes? Why wouldn't you allow one of the co-authors of the Wells Report to be questioned by Brady's attorneys?

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I'm also supposed to believe the Patriots' claim that he was nicknamed such not because he was deflating footballs, but trying to lose weight.

You know what's not in the Wells Report? The fact that the text where McNally told Jastremski to "deflate" was sent moments after Jastremski was seen on TV wearing a puffy jacket that made him look fat. Also, that game was being played in Green Bay, where Jastremski didn't have access to the footballs, and McNally was sitting on his couch in New Hampshire.

The text where McNally calls himself "The Deflator" was sent in February of 2014, I believe. If you think that text was evidence of a scheme to deflate footballs below what is legally allowed, then you also have to believe that the scheme was already in place by this point. In October of that year, Jastremski complained in a text to his girlfriend that the referees had inflated the Patriots' footballs up to 16 PSI, when Brady wanted them at 13 PSI.

I'm sorry, but that court decision is bad news for football fans. It basically says that it's OK for the Commissioner to suspend anyone for any reason for any length of time. He doesn't have to give players due process. He doesn't have to be unbiased. He doesn't have to be consistent. He can play favorites, or he can use the system to settle scores. This decision gives Roger Goodell the power to turn the NFL into his own personal version of the WWE. Regardless of your views on Brady's guilt or innocence, that seems like a really bad idea.

Shame on Goodell for abusing the system, and shame on the NFLPA for allowing it to happen.

This post was edited on 4/28/16 at 8:27 am