Peter King: Why NFL Should Give Back Picks to Pats (But Won’t)

[IllegalContact]

There is no cogent, logical argument that can be made for returning the picks and keeping the fine.

there has been no argument of any kind ever since the appeal window closed on kraft.......it was over and final a long time ago

 

[neuronet]

Do you really think employees who work 10 days a year since confidentiality agreements?

I could hire you to work for me one night as my bodyguard and you'll sign an agreement. It isn't the length of employment that matters, but the nature of the employment.

 

[IllegalContact]

I could hire you to work for me one night as my bodyguard and you'll sign an agreement. It isn't the length of employment that matters, but the nature of the employment.

non-disclosures get signed before the job gets accepted

 

[Ross12]

How's this supposed to even go, though? "Oh, hey, Bob. Uh, well me 'n the boys have been thinkin', and well, we just feel mighty bad about takin' your draft picks. We reckon you can have 'em back."

Yeah, okay. They're not giving up s*** unless required by law or unless public pressure forces their hand.

 

[The Brandon Five]

There is no cogent, logical argument that can be made for returning the picks and keeping the fine.

Hence the reason the sports media are proposing it.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

There is no cogent, logical argument that can be made for returning the picks and keeping the fine.

Here's an attempt -- you'll likely disagree and say it's illogical and that's fine, but it's an attempt anyway:

1) Return the picks because the Patriots were not proven to have deflated footballs in violation of the rules.
2) NFL keeps the $1M fine for a) Lack of proper governance regarding handling of game day footballs (i.e. McNally walking off), and b) lack of full cooperation in investigation (i.e. setting conditions on granting interviews, and sticking to it, rather than allowing NFL carte blanche).

I don't agree either, but there's at least some sort of basis here.

 

[aluminum seats]

There is no cogent, logical argument that can be made for returning the picks and keeping the fine.

Not sure I follow. Seems that there are plenty of logical arguments to be made on that point. They wouldn't do any good, but the arguments are there.

 

[RobertWeathers]

What contract would he breach? He is a part time employee that did nothing wrong. If he goes on 60 Minutes and tells the whole world he did nothing wrong, where is the breach of contract??

I am speculating that he signed an NDA which does not allow him to discuss the matter publicly.

If you're saying the guy would accept a bribe in exchange for telling a lie, I cannot address that point because I do not know him personally or know if he would do such a thing. However, there is no evidence whatsoever suggesting he would deliberately lie in exchange for a bribe so I will give him the benefit of the doubt until I see evidence that he is the type of guy who would do that.

Yes- there is no evidence to support that he would accept a bribe to lie. My point is that I would not put it past the NFL to offer it.

 

[Deus Irae]

Here's an attempt -- you'll likely disagree and say it's illogical and that's fine, but it's an attempt anyway:

1) Return the picks because the Patriots were not proven to have deflated footballs in violation of the rules.
2) NFL keeps the $1M fine for a) Lack of proper governance regarding handling of game day footballs (i.e. McNally walking off), and b) lack of full cooperation in investigation (i.e. setting conditions on granting interviews, and sticking to it, rather than allowing NFL carte blanche).

I don't agree either, but there's at least some sort of basis here.

If what was done is bad enough to merit a million dollar fine, it's bad enough to merit the loss of picks.

Remember, we're talking about the integrity of the game.

 

[Deus Irae]

Not sure I follow. Seems that there are plenty of logical arguments to be made on that point. They wouldn't do any good, but the arguments are there.

Your post seems to indicate that you misunderstood my post.

 

[aluminum seats]

Your post seems to indicate that you misunderstood my post.

Correct. I read it initially as the Pats "keeping" the fine. My bad.

 

[neuronet]

non-disclosures get signed before the job gets accepted

Right, but I'd be surprised if Pats employees that worked with players didn't all sign them as a matter of course.

 

[Deus Irae]

Correct. I read it initially as the Pats "keeping" the fine. My bad.

No worries. We're on a sensitive issue here, so I just wanted to make sure we were looking at the same things, and I think we can all agree that Goodell is a poopyhead.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

If what was done is bad enough to merit a million dollar fine, it's bad enough to merit the loss of picks.

Remember, we're talking about the integrity of the game.

I hadn't even thought of that angle; you're absolutely right. Ugh....

For what it's worth, the Patriots have included this article on the Wells Report Context website. Too bad they're not doing anything else about it, though.

 

[Clonamery]

If what was done is bad enough to merit a million dollar fine, it's bad enough to merit the loss of picks.

Remember, we're talking about the integrity of the game.

Yeah, I'm sure they're using that fine to help pay for the prosecution of Tom Brady.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

If what was done is bad enough to merit a million dollar fine, it's bad enough to merit the loss of picks.

Remember, we're talking about the integrity of the game.

I was thinking the exact same thing on this. Since when is the scale of punishment determined by the scale of certainty? We are kinda sure they did it, so a lesser penalty...huh? The determination of guilt needs to be reversed entirely.

King is also still clinging to they must have done something wrong with his naive reliance on what he calls circumstantial evidence, which has not only been rendered useless by the scientific evidence but never was anything or substance.

This is just another half-way article to save face while ignoring the real issue, which is that King, the media, and the NFL have just committed an atrocity on the spectrum of fairness and need to own up to their mistakes, if not corruption.

 

[RobertWeathers]

There's one confirmed violation of rules -- McNally taking the footballs without making sure the league knew where he was going with them.

I'm OK with a fine for that.

At a maximum.

To this day it still baffles me that with the NFL telling the ops team on the ground in the locker room and the officials that they need to be vigilant about making sure that there isn't any "funny business" with the footballs that McNally and his whale blubber girth sashays through the clubhouse, into the officials locker room and takes the footballs to the can. 20+ NFL employees and several refs never saw him.

That guy is about as inconspicuous as a dump truck driving through a nitro-glycerin plant.

Either it was a sting or a collection of the biggest, incompetent clueless NFL employees they could find to send to Foxboro.

 

[NashuaPats]

At a maximum.

To this day it still baffles me that with the NFL telling the ops team on the ground in the locker room and the officials that they need to be vigilant about making sure that there isn't any "funny business" with the footballs that McNally and his whale blubber girth sashays through the clubhouse, into the officials locker room and takes the footballs to the can. 20+ NFL employees and several refs never saw him.

That guy is about as inconspicuous as a dump truck driving through a nitro-glycerin plant.

Either it was a sting or a collection of the biggest, incompetent clueless NFL employees they could find to send to Foxboro.

You don't think this guy is inconspicuous? The same guy who went ninja on the footballs on the floor of a small bathroom?

 

[IllegalContact]

At a maximum.

To this day it still baffles me that with the NFL telling the ops team on the ground in the locker room and the officials that they need to be vigilant about making sure that there isn't any "funny business" with the footballs that McNally and his whale blubber girth sashays through the clubhouse, into the officials locker room and takes the footballs to the can. 20+ NFL employees and several refs never saw him.

That guy is about as inconspicuous as a dump truck driving through a nitro-glycerin plant.

Either it was a sting or a collection of the biggest, incompetent clueless NFL employees they could find to send to Foxboro.

If the entire process tells you anything, it's that the whole thing was a railroad......the Wells report and the manner in which is was done and regarded can only lead you to conclude there was a sting operation at the AFCC......the whole thing was a bag job, and it probably would not have mattered even if Brady and Kraft handled it perfectly considering the basis of the evidence.......the pats were going down one way or another......

 

[RobertWeathers]

You don't think this guy is inconspicuous? The same guy who went ninja on the footballs on the floor of a small bathroom?

Nope. Thats why I added the dump truck comment....