My Problem With Deflategate

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

Suspension. Fines. Draft pick loss. Tom Brady. Could you imagine hearing those words used in a sentence, together, in a negative fashion towards the Patriots? Of course you can, it’s the New England Patriots.

As Brady said at Salem State University in regards to the recent Wells Report, “I’ve not had much time to digest it.” Brady continued, “When I do I will be sure to let you know how I feel about it. And everybody else.” Well, I’ve had the time to digest the Wells Report and the punishment handed down to the Patriots organization, Brady included.

The punishment for the Patriots was the loss of a first-round pick in 2016, a fourth-round pick in 2017, and a $1 million fine. For Brady, he has been suspended for four games, but his agent, Don Yee, has emphasized that with a neutral arbitrator they will appeal.

The past year for the National Football League (NFL) has been a complete and utter disappointment, in terms of handling off-field issues. That statement revolves mostly around the Ray Rice domestic violence incident that had occurred in February. The reputation of commissioner Roger Goodell had been tarnished after the surveillance video of Rice’s incident; Goodell initially installed a two-game suspension for Rice, but would change his decision to a suspension indefinitely following the video surfacing.

My issue with the entirety of the, ‘Deflategate’ is that with the uncertain tone provided, along with the inconclusive conclusion, the NFL provided the Patriots and Brady a hefty punishment. Don’t get me wrong, with the given situation, the Patriots, more than probable, should be disciplined.

The Wells Report, being able to be read here, concludes, on page 126, that Brady was aware of the wrong doing.

“We nevertheless believe, based on the totality of the evidence, 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” (Wells Report 126).

More probable than not. More probable than not? This is a multi-million dollar investigation by a independent investigator, known as Ted Wells. Wells, on an interview with ESPN, via conference call, did not answer the question of how much he was payed, but informed the viewers that, “no question it was in the millions of dollars.” I understand that Brady hasn’t turned over his phone, which could be vital to the investigation, but with the inconclusive statement provided by Wells it inflates preexisting questions.

For starters, Wells, in his report on page 44-46, specified that the general manager for the Indianapolis Colts, Ryan Grigson, emailed the league with their concerns of the Patriots under-inflating footballs.

“As far as the gameballs are concerned it is well known around the league that after the Patriots gameballs are checked by the officials and brought out for game usage the ballboys for the patriots will let out some air with a ball needle because their quarterback likes a smaller football so he can grip it better, it would be great if someone would be able to check the air in the game balls as the game goes on so that they don’t get an illegal advantage” (Wells Report 45).

Thus the sting operation conspiracy begins. In no way do I believe that there was a sting operation, as Wells informed there was not, but it’s plausible. But given the suspicion, why wouldn’t the NFL notify the Patriots, advising that the league is watching at an eerie standpoint? From here, I believe there are two paths the NFL took; one, the NFL disregarded the Colts’ email and suspicion, due to lack of factual evidence, and proceeded with the AFC Championship game, then later investigated the lack of ball pressure, or two, understood the Colts’ request and decided to exploit the Patriots.

To measure the PSI of the footballs used in the AFC Championship game you would need a tool, the pressure gauge. ProFootballTalks’ Mike Florio provided the insight in regards of the pressure gauge use. There were, essentially, two pressure gauges; one with a logo and one without. Florio writes that the gauge with the logo emitted higher readings for the PSI levels on the 11 footballs, opposed to the gauge without the logo. Due to the Ideal Gas Law, the footballs would be expected to fall between 11.52 to 11.32 PSI range, in which they did during halftime.

Florio continued, referee Walt Anderson was unsure about which gauge he had used, but from his best recollection and the Wells Report page 52, Anderson stated that he used the gauge with the logo; the same gauge that emitted the higher readings. So why does Wells disregard this evidence? Florio states that Wells’ opinion on Anderson’s recollection is probably incorrect.

“In other words, the Wells report concludes on this critical point that it’s “more probable than not” that Anderson’s “best recollection” was wrong” (Florio).

So how does this work? Perhaps there was tampering in the investigation where Wells influenced Anderson’s thought process, we’ll probably never know. The concept, however, raises more uncertainty in the Wells Report.

The consequences Brady and the Patriots suffered seem as a move by league to make a statement. The overall competitive edge a deflated ball gives is minimal, but the league was determined to make an existing point. Was this perhaps to save the sanctity of Goodell’s image? On page 122 of the Wells Report, footnote 73, Wells states the following:

“We were not asked by the NFL to investigate the potential competitive impact of the deflation of Patriots game balls and, therefore, do not make any findings or reach any conclusions on that issue. Nevertheless, we note that Brady‟s performance in the second half of the AFC Championship Game—after the Patriots game balls were re-inflated—improved as compared to his performance in the first half” (Wells Report 122, Footnote 73).

Clearly the difference, as stated earlier, is minimal, but it is prohibited by the rules by all means.

Ideally, the Patriots probably did not deserve the punishment they received, Brady’s four game suspension, $1 million fine, and two draft picks stripped. The questionable decision by the NFL in the punishment is, why were the Patriots organization penalized? The Wells Report states, on page 3, that coach Belichick, or any other Patriots’ coaches, had no knowledge of the wrongdoing.

“In particular, we do not believe there was any wrongdoing or knowledge of wrongdoing by Patriots ownership, Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick or any other Patriots coach in the matters investigated” (Wells Report 3).

Once again, why were the Patriots docked two draft picks and fined $1 million, the largest fine in NFL history? We could make the assumption of Goodell’s statement during, ‘Bountygate’ and how ignorance is not an excuse, but one could make the justification that Goodell’s ignorance to the deflated balls and Colts’ email were present, if that were the given case. There should be a broad sense of consistency around the league.

As I mentioned earlier, the punishment, in my eyes, seem harsh for the Patriots. The suspension seems reasonable for the role Brady most likely played in the, ‘Deflategate’ scandal, but docking the Patriots two draft picks and $1 million seems unreasonable. Yes, the Patriots are repeat offenders, going back to, ‘Spygate’, but as Wells stated in his report, the Patriots were clear of any wrong doing, and by Patriots I mean owner Robert Kraft and Belichick.

Unfortunately, this will not be the last time we hear about infamous, ‘Deflategate’, as Brady will appeal his suspension in the near future. Not to mention Kraft’s intuition to seek further aid in reference to the Patriots organization penalties.

Ultimately, the punishment provided by NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent, and commissioner Goodell is to be used as a statement that will ricochet around the league. In addition, the statement would save Goodell the progressive image of commissioner. Is ticks of air pressure in a football a big deal? The answer is no, but due to the Patriots being involved the media, and league, go frenzy.

All in all, we’re talking about pressures of footballs, while we could be talking about inspirational stories, such as Lauren Hill’s, and others.

*This does not reflect the entirety of the ISN Staff. The article written reflects the author/writer.