The Real Story of Deflategate
Tom Brady, megastar quarterback of the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots, was accused, in January, of using footballs deflated to levels between 0.1 and 1.0 psi below NFL regulation pressure limits. The accusation was made publicly and with much fanfare. Because Tom Brady and the Patriots are perennial winners and have frustrated many other teams dreaming of Super Bowl victories, these accusations were met with applause and a sense of validation from the fans ( and sometimes even players ) of many other teams. The narrative no longer had to be “The Patriots are better than us”, but could turn into “The Patriots only beat us because they cheated. We are actually the superior team.” Suddenly, years of disappointment can turn into years of indignation. Fans of other teams are victims, Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the Patriots are the oppressors.
In the time since the initial accusations went public, the NFL has commissioned a group of lawyers ( lead by Ted Wells ) to research evidence, punishment has been handed down in the form of a one million dollar team fine, the loss of a 1st round pick in the next draft, the loss of a 4th round pick in the draft afterwards, and a four game suspension of Brady. Scientists have come out on both sides of whether or not the alleged deflation issues could have happened naturally during the course of the game. Brady has appealed the ruling, had his case heard by the persons who initially enforced the penalty, and was rejected on his appeal. He is now taking the league to court. Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots, has come out with several strong statements against the league. Tom Brady and his agent have both made public statements of innocence. Fans of the Patriots have lamented. Fans of other teams have rejoiced.
The Patriots have been caught cheating before. During the first game of the 2007 season, a cameraman in full logo’d Patriots garb carrying a rather large camera was spotted filming the Jets defensive signals from the sideline. Immediately, fans of the Rams, Eagles, and Panthers ( the Patriot’s previous three Super Bowl victims ) felt validated. The Patriots had only won because they had cheated. For their part, the Patriots admitted to having a cameraman on the sideline but not to cheating. Bill Belichick argued that the rules did not explicitly prevent the type of filming that was being done. The league handed down a punishment ( including the loss of a 1st round draft pick and a substantial fine ) and the team accepted it. They had engaged in an activity that was questionable, knew it, and accepted their fate. In the words of Bill Belichick “It is what it is.” There is no use in fighting reality. Take it for what it is and move forward. That season, the team went 18–1, losing the Super Bowl on a miracle desperation throw from Eli Manning to a receiver ( David Tyree ) who caught the ball one-handed on his helmet and would not even make a team the next year.
Because of the previous scandal with filming ( side note: signal stealing, video taping opposing coaches, etc has been admitted by many, many teams and coaches — read here, here, and here for examples), when the issue of deflated balls arose, everyone knew immediately that the Patriots must be guilty. Never mind that the Patriots beat the Colts in the game in question 45–7. Never mind that Tom Brady seemed to struggle a bit with the footballs during the first half of the game when they had dropped below regulation pressure. Never mind that in the second half, when the balls had been re-inflated to a proper pressure, Tom Brady put on a clinic and put the game away. Never mind that the field was cold, it was raining, and that air pressure changes due to atmospheric conditions ( especially since they are filled within a temperature controlled room ). Never mind that Ted Wells was unable to find any solid evidence in his one-hundred page report that concluded it was “more probable than not” that Brady had “general knowledge” of purposeful ball deflation. And we should never, ever, even consider that rather than bowing his head, accepting a minor punishment, and moving forward like the team did with the filming of signals, Tom Brady has fearlessly spoken up against the league, repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, and is taking the NFL to court where everyone’s dirty laundry will be laid bare. Those are not the actions of a guilty man.
But evidence ( or lack of it ) does not matter in the court of public opinion. The public has made their judgement of guilt or innocence based on how each possibility makes them feel. Fan of the Ravens? Tom Brady is obviously guilty. That’s the only way to explain how the Patriots beat your team. They obviously couldn’t be better. They must have cheated. Fan of the Patriots? Tom Brady is being randomly destroyed by the league for no reason. There is no way he could possibly be guilty. He’s Tom Brady, your hero. The facts don’t matter.
And that’s where this quick post gets to its point. The facts don’t matter. Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by a vigilante “white-hispanic” ( still not sure how someone could be “white-hispanic”, but so be it ). If you’re one segment of the population, Martin was an innocent child killed by “the man”. If you’re another segment of the population, Martin was a thug who made a wrong move against an armed citizen. Ferguson — same story. It’s either “Hands up, don’t shoot” or “The officer was doing his job and protecting himself”. Neither side cares about the facts. Neither side will change its opinion when the whole story is revealed ( if it ever is revealed ). Global warming: real issue or communistic wealth-redistribution plan? The facts don’t matter, only which belief structure makes you feel better about yourself.
So … when do we get back to caring about truth? Do we ever get back to caring about truth? Did truth ever matter to people, or has it always been this way?
