TOM TERRIBLE IS SUSPENDED!

Follow the Money wrote:

What Ray Rice did was criminal and disgusting.

What Brady and the Patriots did has the potential to impact the betting lines. Sad but true.

Hypocrites all.

Yes, what Rice did was criminal. Guess who should be investigating and prosecuting in that case?

Hint: It isn't the NFL

Apparently Man wrote:

themanontherun wrote:

Apparently deflating game balls (more likely than not or actually) is twice as bad as getting caught beating your wife in an elevator.

Apparently you do not understand the difference between actions that should be under the NFL's purview to provide punishment for and actions that should be under the purview of the American justice system to provide justice for.

Apparently you don't understand that many businesses and the like have ethics clauses.

First Get a Brain wrote:

Follow the Money wrote:

What Ray Rice did was criminal and disgusting.

What Brady and the Patriots did has the potential to impact the betting lines. Sad but true.

Hypocrites all.

Yes, what Rice did was criminal. Guess who should be investigating and prosecuting in that case?

Hint: It isn't the NFL

You're the one who needs to get a brain. The NFL is a business, and no business is under any obligation to continue to employ someone who hurts the business's image and bottom line. The fact that a criminal investigation is rightly carried out by law enforcement agencies does not mean a business can take no action to protect itself.

Under your logic a restaurant owner who has a waiter who admits to domestic violence (like Rice did!) would need to keep employing that waiter even though doing so pissed off half the town and caused the restaurant owner to lose lots of $. Any business owner has the right to at least suspend an employee if not outright fire them.

Jere Longman just posted a good article, and basically says the suspension is a pretty silly overreaction.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/13/sports/football/in-tom-brady-mess-distinguishing-cheating-from-chicanery.html?_r=0

Freedom Trail wrote:

First Get a Brain wrote:

Yes, what Rice did was criminal. Guess who should be investigating and prosecuting in that case?

Hint: It isn't the NFL

You're the one who needs to get a brain. The NFL is a business, and no business is under any obligation to continue to employ someone who hurts the business's image and bottom line. The fact that a criminal investigation is rightly carried out by law enforcement agencies does not mean a business can take no action to protect itself.

Under your logic a restaurant owner who has a waiter who admits to domestic violence (like Rice did!) would need to keep employing that waiter even though doing so pissed off half the town and caused the restaurant owner to lose lots of $. Any business owner has the right to at least suspend an employee if not outright fire them.

Guess how many times I said that the NFL is or should be under any "obligation to continue to employ someone who hurts the business's image and bottom line?"

Hint: It is the integer that precedes the number "1".

Seriously folks, do you have any ability to think? Any whatsoever?

MarathonMind wrote:

Jere Longman just posted a good article, and basically says the suspension is a pretty silly overreaction.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/13/sports/football/in-tom-brady-mess-distinguishing-cheating-from-chicanery.html?_r=0

I agree with this guy. Athletes and teams have always sought an advantage by tweaking the field or equipment to their liking. This always seems to fall into a gray area...cheating or not? Stickum was a good example above. I remember Vince Lombardi messing with the heating coils under Lambeau field -- he could heat or freeze the field, depending on conditions. So the Packers knew what the conditions would be like and could prepare for it. Opponents could not. Is that cheating or a home-field advantage? Was Lombardi a cheater, then?

I would bet every starting QB in the league has a preference, and they're going to let the equipment guys know. Well, maybe not anymore. But the idea that this is solely a Tom Brady and/or Patriots thing....is a joke.

Apparently only you can think because you're so much more intelligent than anyone on this board.

But please clarify if this is your position: the NFL has no right to investigate employee misconduct that may also be criminal, to determine facts supporting its own standard for suspension, but it can just suspend anyway if it hurts the bottom line?

There is so much wrong with this whole thing. How can anyone believe that a law firm that represents the NFL in court against the players can be independent and impartial in this "investigation"? And if the report concluded that the ownership and coaching staff had no knowledge of any balls being deflated, why fine the Pats $1M and deprive them of two draft picks? Also where are the transcripts from their interviews with Brady and Belichick...and why is not a single quote from either of those interviews in the report? And why is Wells complaining about not getting to interview McNally again after he was interviewed FOUR times?

This is such a bag job. I'm just dying to see who Goodell chooses to hear the appeal. If it's not someone completely independent of the NFL, we'll know the fix is in.

Freedom Trail wrote:

First Get a Brain wrote:

Guess how many times I said that the NFL is or should be under any "obligation to continue to employ someone who hurts the business's image and bottom line?"

Hint: It is the integer that precedes the number "1".

Seriously folks, do you have any ability to think? Any whatsoever?

Apparently only you can think because you're so much more intelligent than anyone on this board.

But please clarify if this is your position: the NFL has no right to investigate employee misconduct that may also be criminal, to determine facts supporting its own standard for suspension, but it can just suspend anyway if it hurts the bottom line?

No that is not my position. What in the world could have possibly led you to think something so foolish?

ESPN says "Wells dismissed the notion that the NFL had a sting operation against the Patriots, saying "nobody paid that much attention" to the initial email from the Indianapolis Colts expressing concern about the team possibly using underinflated footballs."

Exactly, so Well's hatchet job started on a few mismeasured pressures should never have gotten started. The only reason it did is because Goodell isn't big enough to say loud and clear that HE BLEW IT and didn't pay enough attention to the initial email to make sure the league had enough evidence to make a fair call.

According to the texts, since they are Well's only source, the only penalty there has ever been for low pressure is that the refs overinflate the Pats footballs and then "the deflator" tries to make them legal. If not what is Well's explanation for the talk about 16 pound balls??

Well, my apologies then. But that is certainly Flagpole's position. He essentially said the NFL has no business investigating any conduct that doesn't directly affect what goes on between the lines on the field.

That is ridiculous.

And BTW, Ray Rice was investigated by law enforcement.

perfect spiral ham wrote:

It's not the football deflation that will get him the suspension, it's the LYING about the football deflation that will get him the suspension.

Once again, the cover up is worse than the deed.

Exactly! This is what those who argue the Ray Rice thing are ignoring. well, that and the fact that the NFL had no policy governing it. IIRC, they have now implemented one.

coach d wrote:

What Ray Rice did I would describe as felony assault. He should have done jail time for that--and I think someone who wasn't an NFL player of his ability would have--but was suspended a whopping two games. Without question, if one of our NCAA athletes did that, they would be kicked off the team immediately, and they would probably be kicked out of school.

It is upon that basis that I'm watching the Tom Brady affair. If the NFL decides that letting a little air out of one's own footballs is more serious than what Ray Rice did, I will switch the NFL and the Super Bowl off forever. It would send a terrible message to young men and families all over this country.

When was the last game that Ray Rice played in? IIRC, he has not played a game since this started.

They ALL CHEAT! wrote:

http://yourteamcheats.com/

Not a valid source, just something the Patriot (Cheaters) fanbase promotes to cover up their sordid actions.

Follow the Money wrote:

bladerunner wrote:

The fact is: the NFL didn't care. They want the qb's to have every advantage because offense sells in the NFL. They want the qb's to have huge games. Brady and Manning and Rogers sell tickets. Now the NFL changes its mind because there's a witch hunt out for New England. Well, they got em good. They ruined New England's next season and hurt them for future seasons with the draft choice penalty. Seems excessive.

Nothing got ruined, the Patriots will split the first 4 games then roll the rest of the year. After all the cheaters are always ahead of the authorities. Think back to the Superbowl interception - they knew that play was coming. How was was that?

Did I just open a can of worms?

No, but you know they have been stealing signals through cameras and now they probably intercept wirelessly. I would not trust those cheaters if I played against them. I would use some sort of code and change it frequently.

Here's my picture...

http://goo.gl/WgISw

Polly P wrote:

There is so much wrong with this whole thing. How can anyone believe that a law firm that represents the NFL in court against the players can be independent and impartial in this "investigation"? And if the report concluded that the ownership and coaching staff had no knowledge of any balls being deflated, why fine the Pats $1M and deprive them of two draft picks? Also where are the transcripts from their interviews with Brady and Belichick...and why is not a single quote from either of those interviews in the report? And why is Wells complaining about not getting to interview McNally again after he was interviewed FOUR times?

This is such a bag job. I'm just dying to see who Goodell chooses to hear the appeal. If it's not someone completely independent of the NFL, we'll know the fix is in.

Sour grapes are not very tasty, but Patriot tears sure are.

I'm sorry, what makes this "not a valid source"?

Sure it's not a peer reviewed journal article, but it does put things in perspective.

I am decidedly not a Pats fan, by the way.

You know what's even more tasty? Super bowl rings and trophies and parades! We have them, you don't.

mmmmmmmmmm......super bowls. yummy.