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I don't deal in maybes and probablys.
Seems like Ted Wells does.
DeflateGate finally reached some breakthrough on Wednesday. The 134-page Wells report was finally finished and released to the press. The long and short of it was that some measure of culpability in this mess has been linked to Patriot equipment staff members Jim McNally and John Jastremski (pronounce that name carefully, folks), and quarterback Tom Brady. The report found the Patriots front office and head coach Bill Belichick blameless in this incident.
By "some measure of culpability", it is difficult to glean that Patriot employees did what they did beyond a reasonable doubt. The wording of the Wells Report deals in vague language versus definitive language, and does not send down an emphatic damnation of anyone in the Patriot organization. There is still much wiggle room in terms of interpretation of the report, as well as what the league can and will do with this information as they move forward.
In the report, the words "more probable than not" are a central issue in interpreting the findings by Wells. The report says that "it is more probable than not that McNally…and Jastremski…participated in a deliberate effort to release air from Patriots game balls after the balls were examined by the referee." The report goes on to say that "it also is our view that it is more probable than not that Brady…was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of McNally and Jastremski involving the release of air from Patriots game balls."
 Tom Brady celebrated a Super Bowl win three months ago, but now faces possible league action after the release of the Wells Report on Wednesday. (USA TODAY Images) |
It is clear that the Patriots do not come out of this smelling like a rose. This is not anything close to exoneration. But the wording in the report is based on what Patriot employees "probably" did. The report also states that Brady "probably" was "generally" aware of what McNally and Jastremski were doing.
In other words, this report did not say that "McNally and Jastremski did, without question, deflate game balls with the full knowledge and guidance from Brady." The report says that these breaches of league policy "probably happened". While action may still be taken against these men, especially Brady, everyone's interpretation of this report is subject to opinion and objectivity rather than matter of fact.
And that will be interesting to watch over as the "penalty phase" of this investigation plays out.
A series of text messages between McNally and Jastremski suggest that the two were engaged in some form of chicanery. The report lists several profanity-laced exchanges between the two men, where it is inferred that the two men were involved in deflating footballs. What is not clear is how they did it, and what exactly was Brady's involvement in the process.
The report later mentions that McNally was videotaped taking a bag full of game balls to be used for the AFC Championship Game from the officials' quarters after referee Walt Anderson approved them for game usage. According to the report, McNally disappears into a bathroom for about a minute and 40 seconds, then emerges. It is not seen what exactly went on in that bathroom, and the video does not directly tie Brady into this situation.
To make a long story short, Wells uses the words "more probably than not" to suggest that McNally and Jastremski did what they did, and Brady "more probably than not" knew about what was going on. In other words, maybe they did it. Maybe Brady knew. Maybe. Not definitely. Just maybe.
So what exactly does this mean for Brady and the aforementioned equipment staff members?
This writer is a 32-year educator in performing arts. Several times during the year, my students perform for the public (usually their parents). One thing students in this academic discipline learn about is responsibility. Public performances place a great amount of responsibility on students. It helps them greatly as they mature and develop into adults. To reinforce the need for responsibility, often times the need for clarity and focus has to be continually presented to the students. If, say in the process of preparing for a performance, a student is unclear about their level of responsibility and their understanding of "Do your job!" is also unclear, I might say this to a student:
I don't deal in maybes and probablys.
I will probably have my music learned in time. Maybe I will be late for the performance. I lost my music, but I will probably find it in time.
I don't deal in maybes and probablys. The student grasps the situation, then finds/learns the music and makes it to the gig on time.
This sentence which opened this article might save the day for Brady in the end, or at least lessen the consequences he might face. Absent of concrete evidence against Brady or McNally or Jastremski, meting out punishment from the NFL might prove dicey and open to appeals and/or legal action.
Instead of punishing Brady and these other two "fifteen minutes of fame" guys, here is a better idea. Fix the problem.
Take responsibility of properly inflated footballs away from the home team and place it in the hands of league officials. Hire a few dozen more employees, rotate which stadium they work at to prevent familiarity, and charge them with exclusive handling of both kicking and regular game balls. Keep the footballs away from the home team.
In baseball, the home team supplies the balls (usually 12 dozen), but the umpires take charge of them, rub them up with the Delaware River mud, and keep them in their possession. Let the home teams supply the footballs, but the league oversees them at all times.
If the NFL feels that they can make any punishment stick, let them go ahead and try. Bob Kraft said in a prepared statement that the Patriots "will accept any repercussions handed to the team." But there may be limits. What if Brady were handed a suspension? Or a very stiff fine?
Patriot detractors will be heard from all over the nation. They cheated again. Take away their Super Bowls. Keep Belichick and Brady away from Canton.
And they can all sit down and shut up. The Patriots won the Super Bowl fair and square. Go back and watch the AFC Championship Game and see if slightly deflated footballs really cost the Colts the game (even the Colt players are on record as saying that they simply got their butts kicked). The Colts need to learn how to stop the run rather than to complain about football inflation.
Just accept the report, thank Wells for his trouble, and fix the problem.
Something probably happened. Maybe. Generally. Whatever. Just fix the problem. Done and done.
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