- Joined
- Oct 16, 2007
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What began as an “independent investigation” of allegedly deflated footballs at the AFC Championship Game has evolved into, first, the prosecution and now the very public persecution of Tom Brady. From the outset, the NFL has done everything in its considerable power to cast the actions of Brady and the Patriots in the most unflattering light possible. The NFL has now twice publicized its starkly adversarial case against Brady, while the QB’s defense has been relegated to a single top-secret, confidential proceeding conducted on a time limited basis behind closed doors. It’s no wonder that public opinion outside of New England has turned against Brady; they've only seen the NFL's version of the story. The Goodell decision follows the lead of the one-sided Wells Report by giving substantial weight to whatever half-facts, tortured inferences and outright innuendo that buttress its foregone conclusions while pointedly ignoring anything that might support a different and less sensational outcome.
Did Brady even present a defense? If so, it was barely even acknowledged by the Commissioner. Was Roger actually listening at the appeal or was he playing Candy Crush on his cell phone? Or maybe the Commissioner fell asleep during what must have been - for him - a pointless and tiresome proceeding. Goodell is on the record about the importance of a fair and open process. But let’s face it – Whitey Bulger got a fairer shake than Tom Brady.
Roger’s decision contains a lot of lame rationalizations of how Brady’s actions represent a far more serious affront to the integrity and dignity of the NFL than, say, BrettFavre texting action photos of his genitalia to a female co-worker. So much for the league’s concern about sexual harassment. As for the PED comparison as justification for the four game suspension, PED use is definitively identified through established medical testing procedures. The proof that footballs were illegally deflated is sadly lacking, the Commissioner’s stubborn and ill-considered opinion to the contrary notwithstanding.
L’Affaire Cell Phone is especially unfortunate because it plays right into the hands of the Commissioner and his inexplicable vendetta against Brady. It’s a sensational headline that, in the short run, will dominate the public conversation. But you would imagine that clear thinking people might object to the notion that an NFL player (or any employee anywhere) should be required to give up their privacy rights as a condition of employment. Goodell’s faux outrage that Brady stripped his phone bare, despite knowing that Ted Wells wanted access to it, is nauseating. Even if the CBA requires this, it’s not fair, decent or right.
The Goodell decision and subsequent New York court filing make it crystal clear the NFL is prepared to go to the wall in its efforts to nail Tom Brady. It’s hard to understand why the league is hell-bent on destroying the reputation of one of the greatest players of all time. Maybe the bigger battle is between the idiot commissioner and the NFLPA. Or maybe it is the result of animus, distrust and jealously on the part of 31 other owners directed at Bob (“Mr.”) Kraft and Coach Belichick. In any event, it’s all pretty much beyond belief.
So now, it’s a street fight, a bare-knuckled brawl. Brady and the Patriots have to come out swinging. Let’s see the briefs that Kessler presented to the league in Brady’s defense. Let’s call out the Commissioner on the blatant unfairness of the process. Let’s very publicly make the case that an employer impinging on the privacy rights of its employees is an affront to human decency. Let’s publish and advocate and leak anything that reveals the NFL’s duplicity and shows Roger Goodell to be the dishonest fraud that he is.
You can’t bring a knife to a gun fight. Consequences be damned. It’s time to declare war. It’s time for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots to go after Roger Goodell and his corrupt henchman with everything they’ve got.
Did Brady even present a defense? If so, it was barely even acknowledged by the Commissioner. Was Roger actually listening at the appeal or was he playing Candy Crush on his cell phone? Or maybe the Commissioner fell asleep during what must have been - for him - a pointless and tiresome proceeding. Goodell is on the record about the importance of a fair and open process. But let’s face it – Whitey Bulger got a fairer shake than Tom Brady.
Roger’s decision contains a lot of lame rationalizations of how Brady’s actions represent a far more serious affront to the integrity and dignity of the NFL than, say, BrettFavre texting action photos of his genitalia to a female co-worker. So much for the league’s concern about sexual harassment. As for the PED comparison as justification for the four game suspension, PED use is definitively identified through established medical testing procedures. The proof that footballs were illegally deflated is sadly lacking, the Commissioner’s stubborn and ill-considered opinion to the contrary notwithstanding.
L’Affaire Cell Phone is especially unfortunate because it plays right into the hands of the Commissioner and his inexplicable vendetta against Brady. It’s a sensational headline that, in the short run, will dominate the public conversation. But you would imagine that clear thinking people might object to the notion that an NFL player (or any employee anywhere) should be required to give up their privacy rights as a condition of employment. Goodell’s faux outrage that Brady stripped his phone bare, despite knowing that Ted Wells wanted access to it, is nauseating. Even if the CBA requires this, it’s not fair, decent or right.
The Goodell decision and subsequent New York court filing make it crystal clear the NFL is prepared to go to the wall in its efforts to nail Tom Brady. It’s hard to understand why the league is hell-bent on destroying the reputation of one of the greatest players of all time. Maybe the bigger battle is between the idiot commissioner and the NFLPA. Or maybe it is the result of animus, distrust and jealously on the part of 31 other owners directed at Bob (“Mr.”) Kraft and Coach Belichick. In any event, it’s all pretty much beyond belief.
So now, it’s a street fight, a bare-knuckled brawl. Brady and the Patriots have to come out swinging. Let’s see the briefs that Kessler presented to the league in Brady’s defense. Let’s call out the Commissioner on the blatant unfairness of the process. Let’s very publicly make the case that an employer impinging on the privacy rights of its employees is an affront to human decency. Let’s publish and advocate and leak anything that reveals the NFL’s duplicity and shows Roger Goodell to be the dishonest fraud that he is.
You can’t bring a knife to a gun fight. Consequences be damned. It’s time to declare war. It’s time for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots to go after Roger Goodell and his corrupt henchman with everything they’ve got.
