naclone said:
Maybe this is wishcasting, but is there any chance at all Roger is laying track for an opportunity to go TV and say, "I spent all day talking with Tom. He was frustrated and passionate but respectful and open. What is clear to me now is that Tom is very particular about the balls he plays with and puts tremendous pressure on the Patriots staff to condition them to his liking. But it is also clear to me now that Brady has gone to great lengths to find a process within the rulebook that more often than not ensures he has the balls to his liking. It's also clear there have been a great number of games where Brady played, and played well, with balls that were not to his personal preference. Given our discussion, it does not appear to me that Tom was either interested in nor directly asked for the balls to be inflated under 12.5 psi. But the Wells report still concluded that these two knuckleheads tampered with the balls and I believe that tampering did occur but it was most likely a rogue act intended to please Tom, not one that he specifically asked for. I'm therefore vacating Toms 4 game suspension while still holding the team accountable for the indiscretion of their gameday employee. Tom Brady is a national treasure and a hero of our game and I look forward to him being honored as a 4 time Champion at our Super Bowl 50 anniversary event in February."
Doesnt everyone win in that scenario?
No, everyone wouldn't win. This is the kind of post that makes Pats fans look like homers. The truth doesn't matter as long as Brady gets to play.
There are real world reasons people should care about this. A potentially innocent man getting crucified without due process (this isn't the government, but we should strive for fairness anyway). There's a commissioner of the most popular sport in the country that's able to just make everything up as he goes no matter how blind he is, and a national media so in love with its own power to write the narrative that they forgot to report the truth.
And somehow your scenario is a win/win? Brady gets to play, but the scrutiny is off Goodell, the media continues to be held unaccountable and two (potentially) innocent Doritos dinks will get harassed by drunken idiots every time they're recognized.
There's not likely to be any kind of mass vindication here, but ar the very least, this opens a gap large enough to let the nflpa make a move towards taking down the regime, and that may be the only good we're going to get. If we're lucky, Brady will also be able to play and a few people who prejudged might change their minds.
But this attitude where nothing else matters as long as Brady gets to play is blatant homerism.