Tom Brady walks away from court a free man, as another Roger Goodell suspension is reduced. The four-time Super Bowl champion Patriots quarterback was expected to miss the first four games of the regular season after NFL commissioner Goodell reprimanded him for his role in “Deflategate.”
Brady was accused of playing a part in footballs being deflated by Patriots’ locker room attendants. This became a story after the 2015 AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Ted Wells, a criminal defense attorney, was hired by the NFL to lead an independent investigation into this matter. According to ESPN.com, the Wells report came to the conclusion that it was more probable than not that Brady was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of the locker room attendants.
The reports showed texts between the locker room attendants that implied Brady had complete knowledge of the air being released from the footballs. Brady also handed over a smashed cell phone to the police that was required by him to hand over as evidence once he appealed the suspension.
Judge Richard M. Berman did not feel like this was enough to suspend Brady. According to WCTV.tv, Judge Berman believed that “Goodell went too far in affirming punishment of Brady,” criticizing him for dispensing “his own brand of industrial justice.”
This was not the first time the Patriots organization was linked to cheating. In 2007, there was a videotaping controversy that was eventually labeled with the name “Spygate.” According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, evidence showed that the Patriots were taping New York Jets defensive coaches’ signals during a game that year. The league punished the Patriots then with fines and draft picks, just as they did for “Deflategate.”
Donald Trump was one of many people happy to hear about the news of Brady’s suspension being reduced to nothing and sharing it on social media. He tweeted “Congratulations to Tom Brady on yet another great victory- Tom is my friend and a total winner!”
Not everybody is happy though, especially fans of division rivals. “There is zero doubt that Brady cheated, the excuses they used were absurd. It for sure makes a difference too, the Patriot’s fumble stats over the past years are literally off the charts when compared to every other team. That being said I don’t think there was enough evidence to convict him in a court,” John Baldi, senior finance major, said.
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski expressed his happiness on twitter. Gronk tweeted a picture of Brady and himself with the tweet reading, “Let’s go! This season to be one heck of another ride!! #PatsNation”
The Patriots have been labeled as “cheaters” from some. The amount of wins and championships continue to tally up every year no matter what. The Patriots will enter this season defending their Super Bowl championship and going for their 12th division title in the last 13 years.
“All the Patriots do is win. They are a winning organization and Tom Brady is a proven champion. To say all that winning is less significant because of this nonsense is just crazy,” Kyle Barth, senior biology major, said.
Expect all eyes on Brady when the Patriots open the regular season against the Pittsburgh Steelers Thursday, Sept. 10th.
