I read through Runyan's letter of suspension and could find nothing to disagree with. The rules prohibit what Gronk did (two different sections of the rule book), he didn't have to do it, and it had the potential to injure a fellow player. And did, in fact, injure the player, not that Gronk intended that. You can say he was frustrated by all the grabbing and holding that doesn't get called, but it certainly doesn't justify what he did -- if it were to justify anything, it would be to attack the ref! There would be a BIG suspension.
In news unrelated to Gronk but related to Brady, I just read a New York Times article about a Turkish/Iranian guy who was in charge of a billion-dollar scheme to exchange Turkish gold for Iranian oil, or some such thing. The judge in charge: Richard Berman, who heard Brady's appeal, and decided in his favor. Berman had to remove a juror because he was sleeping through the trial.
That's what federal judges do when they're dealing with serious stuff!
Maybe Gronk's suspension will be reduced to a fine, that seems like what happens in many cases, but if not the Pats will just have to find some other way to beat Miami. They've faced much worse problems.
