The National Football League has suspended New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for his role in the ‘DeflateGate’ scandal.
On Monday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell banned Brady for the first four games of the upcoming season, citing “conduct detrimental to the integrity of the NFL.” Brady stood accused of a conspiracy to deflate footballs to below the 12.5 pounds per square inch minimum imposed by the NFL because Brady prefers throwing a softer ball, particularly in wet weather.
While Brady can continue to practice with the team and take part in preseason games, he will miss the season opener against the Steelers plus games against the Bills, Jaguars and Cowboys. Brady’s first game back will be against the Colts in Indianapolis on Oct. 18.
The NFL also fined Brady’s New England Patriots $1m and confiscated two draft picks – next year’s first rounder and a fourth-rounder in 2017. The fine matches the $1m leveled against 49ers owner Ed DeBartolo Jr. after he pled guilty to a felony charge for his role in a Louisiana riverboat casino license scandal. Pats coach Bill Belichick was fined $500k in 2007 for videotaping other teams’ defensive signals and the team forfeited a first-round draft pick.
John Jastermski and Jim McNally, the two Patriots drones whom investigator Ted Wells’ report fingered as the individuals who conducted the actual deflating, have been suspended indefinitely from football. This seems harsh, given that the deflating duo were likely only following orders from Brady and (possibly) members of the Pats coaching staff. Putting aside Godwin’s law for a second, that’s a bit like imprisoning a concentration camp guard while letting Hitler off the hook with a fine and forcing him to give back the Sudetenland.
Brady has the option to appeal his sentence within the next three days. In the meantime, congratulations are in order for bettors who took the over on some online sportsbooks’ prop wagers on the severity of Brady’s suspension. Sportsbooks are now frantically rejigging odds on the number of games the Pats will win this season, their chances of winning another Lombardi Trophy and whether Gisele Bundchen will be caught on camera crying on opening day while her hubby cools his heels in a Pats luxury box.
