It’s possible we may have a clearer picture by Thursday’s filing deadline of the strategy New England Patriot’s Quarterback Tom Brady and his attorney have in appealing the NFL’s punishment for his alleged role in the “deflate-gate’ controversy.
NPR Sports Commentator Tom Goldman, joined WGBH Morning Edition host Bob Seay on Wednesday for his analysis of the unfolding events surrounding deflate-gate, saying, “before last January, did any of us know anything about pounds –per-square inch or PSI?"
Goldman says," the rule surrounding inflating footballs is a silly rule, but nevertheless a rule was broken, and that’s one reason people are connecting to this story, and why it matters.”
Brady has hired prominent attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, to represent him in the NFL appeal.
Kessler is a big name lawyer that’s well known in NFL circles for helping coach Bill Belichick free himself from his Jets contract back in 2000, so he could coach the Patriots.
There are a number of questions surrounding an appeal such as will the appeal change anything in terms of the punishment? How much could/would the NFL reduce Brady’s four-game suspension? Under what circumstances would the NFL reduce the punishment? How will Brady’s appeal decision impact rules of the game, if at all? What are the legal maneuvers involved within an appeal? If the appeal results in a reduced punishment, would such a decision change the public's perception of what's already occurred?
Goldman tells WGBH he talked with a Professor Sharon Stall at the University of Idaho, who heads-up the University's Center For Ethics. Goldman says he went as far from Patriot Nation and Foxboro, Massachusetts as he could in order to gain a more independent outlook on the situation. Goldman says Professor Stall read the entireWells Report. The Wells Report was issued following the investigation into whether the New England Patriot’s broke the rules and deflated footballs before the AFC Championship Game on January 18, 2015 against the Indianapolis Colts.
He says Professor Stall called it,” a fantastic and interesting read, because it showed exactly the extremes people will go to in order to gain an advantage.”
Professor Stall, he says, plans to introduce it within her teaching curriculum as a study of what happens when “winning becomes too important.”
You can listen to the entire interview between NPR's Tom Goldman and WGBH's Bob Seay by clicking on the audio file above.
