DeflateGate, the vampire of NFL news, needs a stake driven through its heart. Football fans from Foxborough to Seattle would surely be willing to pool their money to pay a bounty to have this time sucking scandal killed once and for all.
We’re all even tired of saying how tired we are of this story that stretches back two seasons ago. No one cared then, and public opinion on DeflateGate has turned really hateful at this point.
We’re sick of it but can’t get away from it.
The NFL appeal that now has Tom Brady‘s four-game suspension back in effect has given this story new life after we all figured the court system had worked properly by vindicating the quarterback.
Who would have bet on the NFL appeal working for the League? Not me certainly. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on all of our parts that we could move on from a controversy that appears to only be a big deal to Roger Goodell.
It’s become clear this is personal. Goodell is much more concerned about his authority being challenged than he ever was about the air pressure in some footballs. The Commish knows his power is slowly slipping away each and every time his decisions get overruled, so he needed this win in a big way.
So what’s next in this saga? Brady could appeal this latest decision, but who knows how that would go. That process would drag this thing out even further and cost Brady more legal fees. I’m sure Tom Brady has better things to do than go back and forth to court.
The option of accepting the four-game suspension is on the table. That would be giving in after fighting the good fight for so long, yet it would be the path of least resistance. Brady could sit his four games then come back with this nonsense behind him forever.
That would let us all move on.
There is a third option that will sound as ridiculous as the Wells Report. The New England Patriots could forfeit the first four games of 2016.
Crazy right.
The Patriots could either formally forfeit, which has never happened in NFL history. Or they could just start all third stringers against the Cardinals, Dolphins, Texans, and Bills in the first four weeks of 2016. Making no effort to win the games would essentially be a forfeit.
What purpose would be served by forfeiting the four games that Brady has to sit out? It would embarrass Roger Goodell and cost the League even more good will.
The commissioner would be held responsible for the mess he let continue by appealing the case in the first place. It would be the biggest sports story each of the first four weeks of the NFL season and for the entire year.
In short, forfeiting the games would show team unity by the Patriots by backing their most valuable player in franchise history. And it would be a wake-up call to the other owners who have backed Goodell during this moronic witch hunt.
It’s clear there is less than a one percent chance of this plan happening. The Pats can’t afford to lose four games right off the bat, especially with two being divisional games. And there’s the pride factor of the team wanting to win despite not having Brady under center.
And forfeiting NFL games is a ridiculous thought just as I admitted. That’s what makes it such a great plan. It would fit right in with what DeflateGate has been since all this started.
We’ve already heard more about air pressure and “gas laws” than anyone needs to know in a lifetime. Lawyers have probably made more money with the League investigation and court costs than the Jaguars made in ticket sales last year. Fans have had read through sophomoric texts between two employees of the Patriots and hear about the greatest quarterback of all time destroying his own phone.
Forfeiting four games would put a nice bow on the insanity of DeflateGate while getting Brady’s suspension out of the way at the same time.