News that the NFL report on the deflategate controversy had not only concluded that Patriots ballboys deliberately deflated footballs, but that star QB Tom Brady likely had knowledge of the “inappropriate activities,” spread like wildfire through Foxboro on Wednesday afternoon — and seemingly everyone had an opinion.
Melinda Burt, working the register at a convenience store a few miles from Gillette — where she says the players, a “great group of guys, very professional, very polite,” often stop by — stepped to the team, and Brady’s, defense.
“I don’t believe that they did anything wrong, nor do I believe that Tom Brady did,” Burt said. “He’s a stand-up guy, all the guys on the team seem that way, from the coach to the owner to the rest of them, they’re just awesome.”
At Waxy’s Pub across the street, Eric Bishop was quick to point out that while the report doesn’t look good for Tom, there is no definitive proof that he was involved.
“They’re not 100 percent, you know, that he did it,” Bishop said. “They say he could have, he couldn’t have.”
But others seemed resigned to the fact that the Patriots three-time Super Bowl MVP likely did. Steven Rego took a break from laying asphalt in a parking lot to weigh in.
“I’m hugely disappointed,” Rego said. “The guy’s got more skill than almost any quarterback ever. He doesn’t need to be doing stuff like that. He doesn’t need to tarnish the name of a team that just created a dynasty for themselves.”
Outside an empty Gillette Stadium, season-ticket holder Mike Sullivan was crestfallen.
“Why, Brady, why?” he asked. “And now, how often have they done it? That’s the question I guess.”
We may never know that answer. But as to the question of what punishment Brady — or the team — Brady will now face from the league, that one should be answered in the next few days.
