Tom Brady should be suspended.
He didn’t play by the rules. A 243-page report issued by NFL-hired attorney Ted Wells concluded the New England Patriots’ star quarterback was “generally aware” that two locker room attendants were deflating footballs at his behest.
The dots began to be connected at Brady’s initial Deflategate news conference in January when he uncomfortably insisted he didn’t knowingly do anything wrong. Barry Bonds said the same to a grand jury about his use of steroids during the BALCO trial.
These are legal answers, not candor. They are half truths, when full disclosure could reveal a crime or spur discipline (and clearly Brady didn’t want to jeopardize missing the Super Bowl).
What happened in baseball during the steroids era fundamentally changed every meaningful offensive statistic. Players cheated with performance-enhancing drugs because they worked. What Brady did, according to the Wells report, is a misdemeanor by comparison. It was the baseball equivalent of pitchers dabbing their fingers on pine tar in their glove to get a better grip on the ball. It isn’t a big deal, which is how Brady’s supporters rationalize his behavior.
They are correct. But it misses a larger point. If it was not a big deal to him, why do it? If he wasn’t gaining an advantage, why risk it? If it’s not an issue, why is it against the rules? You could argue it shouldn’t be an infraction, but it sits on the books.
Brady helped change the football protocol in 2006 with the support of Jake Plummer and Peyton Manning. He successfully convinced the NFL to allow visiting teams to provide footballs for their offense. Before, home teams supplied all footballs — meaning visiting quarterbacks had only pregame warm-ups to adjust to the size and slickness of the game-day footballs.
The feel of the football matters to Brady. Has for years. He wanted the ball a particular way. Though lacking a smoking gun, Wells compiled enough evidence — including indicting text messages from locker room attendants — to conclude that Brady liked the footballs under the minium 12½ pounds of air pressure per square inch.
As a result, Brady should be suspended.
His conduct strikes at the heart of two issues: the integrity of the game, which the league at least pretends to take seriously, and his lack of cooperation with the investigation. According to Hall of Fame general manager Bill Polian, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell established a standard in 2008 whereby coaches and general managers signed an affidavit at season’s end confirming that no rules violations occurred under their watch. Violations, Polian explained, would be investigated and teams were expected to comply.
Brady remained uncooperative during this investigation, for the most part. He refused to turn over his phone. The texts between Jim McNally, the officials’ locker room attendant, and John Jastremski, an equipment assistant for the Patriots, convinced investigators that Brady was “generally aware” of the deflation issue. It’s hard to fathom these two low-level attendants went rogue, deciding to doctor footballs on a whim for a organization ruled by a coach who knows the tendencies of every blade of AstroTurf.
Players remain skeptical that Brady will be suspended, citing the league’s history of arbitrary and unpredictable judgments, and Brady’s standing as the face of the league.
“The Patriots are a first-class organization. But this doesn’t look good,” said Washington Redskins defensive tackle Terrance Knighton, a former Bronco. “Every player in the NFL will be watching. And I think every player in the NFL believes if Brady did have something to do with it, he won’t get the punishment everyone expects.”
Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, will decide discipline. My prediction? A four-game ban that will be reduced to two games on appeal.
The league suffered a credibility crisis last year in how it disciplined players for off-field incidents. On-field transgressions can’t just be dismissed. Brady broke a rule, no matter how arcane it might be.
He should be suspended.
Troy E. Renck: trenck@denverpost.com or
