Skip to main content

#DeflateGate Latest Dent in Indestructible NFL Shield


#DeflateGate. Such an awesome name, and an even better hashtag.

This has been an absolute disaster of a year for the NFL. Yet, considering their ratings, revenue, and continuing interest, it all says just about how much of a public relations hit the league can take and keep moving forward. 

Looking to move past the debacle that was the Ray Rice issue and some of the unflattering referee calls/game rulings we've seen this season (shout out to Dez Bryant on what SHOULD HAVE been a catch!), the NFL now has another - ANOTHER! - Patriots cheating scandal on its lap. Even worse is the fact that the scandal may have, possibly, could have, kind of, or quite possible have influenced the holiest game in American culture - The Super Bowl. 


What bothers me most about this is not the fact that the Patriots cheated, but the idea that some are either attempting to downplay the situation or gloss over it. So what they deflated the football. So what if it's not in line with league rules?!  Why have rules in sports? Why not just use a nerf ball? No big deal. Ok, sure, that's a big too far, but still, I think my point is clear. 

The glaring and unconditional pass the NFL receives in our society is amazing. I'll admit, I'm no super football fanatic. You know, the type who is tied to fantasy leagues and crazy about the game. The person who parks it on the couch every Sunday. I'm a fan of the New York Jets and I root for them when possible - if possible. They suck. But football as a sport ranks behind my love, baseball, which I am crazy about, and my second and third favorite sports of basketball and soccer respectively. 

Regardless, I have little to no faith in the NFL to discipline the Patriots, or at the very least, provide some type of justice in this scenario. Jets fandom aside, the Patriots broke the rules (I do agree that "cheated" is too strong a word), and did so knowingly to play in the ultimate game. Regardless, if the Colts looked like my hapless Jets on that Sunday evening, and regardless of if the Patriots played with properly inflated balls during the final 30 minutes of the game, the game rules were broken, intentionally. 

To knowingly defy the rules, in order to gain an advantage is the core ethical ingredient here, and such should be the focus. 

But again, this is a league that flubbed the Ray Rice issue and only did the right thing when pressured to do so. Coming off the heels of that issue, and the severe suspension Sean Payton received with "Bounty Gate", I'm very, very curious to see how this is handled. 

A insignificant monetary fine and possibly a forfeited draft pick? Maybe two? Sounds like a good guess.

But who knows? I've lost so much trust in this league this past season. 

But who cares, right? It remains King. And the Super Bowl is two weeks away! Yay! And that is all that matters. 
Labels:

Recently Read

Quick Ponder: Future Self

We always think,  what would we say  to our  younger self? However,  what would  our younger self say  if they met us, today?
Read more

Knicks Trauma - Ugh Not Again

Well, that was a kick in the stomach.  Coming off a week where the word "catharsis" was used as the description for the euphoria and release of joy from two and a half decades of suffering, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers brought about another word - trauma.  Watching the Knicks collapse was the kind of moments that come with these deep runs and moments. NBA Playoff basketball will do that. Yet, this loss - this one - feels about as bad as the 2004 ALCS when the Yankees collapsed in the series to the Boston Red Sox.  That one carries some serious trauma. Luckily, the series isn't over.  Some other quick thoughts from this awful, awful night, New York Knicks Basketball.  - Not to conjure up hyperbole, or even contribute to "hot take" sports reaction culture - but this might have been the worst loss in Knicks franchise history. I cannot think of another in my lifetime, or historically.  - Tyrese Haliburton's "choke"...
Read more

Knicks Back in ECF Causing Catharsis

I've certainly shared my emotions and thoughts regarding the New York Knicks on this site over the years. There have been plenty of those to sort through - most of them are rants. Tonight, the New York Knicks ultimately destroyed the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, 119-81. I sat on my couch, afraid to allow myself to feel joy until that final buzzer. As a Knicks fan, I've been through too much to allow myself to do anything else, to make any assumption, until it was final. Until it was confirmed. Until something couldn't fall through...the way we're used to.  Once it was final, it was unreal.  The New York Knicks are in the Eastern Conference Finals. For the first time since 2000.  I was 15 years old the last time that happened. And that was a run with a squad that I consider (still) to be my favorite Knicks team of all-time.  I sat on my couch with all sorts of feelings. My wife was likely trying to understand the moment. My son, exci...
Read more