NFL finds Patriots employees probably deflated balls

[DivinePaladin]

McDonaldsGuy said:

DivinePaladin said:

Alright, I'm gonna listen to some pedestrian fan arguing over the dozens of articles I've read on Spygate since 2007 and on Deflategate since it started. I'll believe you saying that Kraft is a lying weasel over practically everybody who has ever met him, worked with him, worked against him, etc. and gushed about how genuine a person he is. And while we're at it, let's just ban the Patriots for the actions of a few individuals acting without the okay from any member of the coaching staff. 

 

Thank god you're not the commissioner right now. I'd take Goodell kissing ass over your martial law. 

Let me ask you this - what is Spygate, and what did it affect and how long was it taking place for?

The Patriots' coaching staff (I specify this because we've never heard anything about Kraft knowing) taping calls during games and practices starting I believe in 2000 as far as our evidence goes. Might've been 2001, it's been a while since I've had to recall. A total of no more than a dozen games were proven after the punishment to have been taped in par,  to the point that Goodell almost tried punishing Belichick again (which would've gotten him sued for the same thing as double-punishing Ray Rice seven years prior). Mangini noticed it and decided he'd stop it, not realizing it was actually against the rules. The investigation ended with $750K in fines, mostly to Belichick for making the call, and a lost first rounder. The Boston Herald widely misreported the issue and led to a lawsuit by the Rams that was dropped not too long after. Kraft and Belichick personally apologized to the NFL privately and publicly, and I believe it was Polian, back during his Colts days, believed both to be fully genuine. At least two other former coaching staff members in the NFL have since said that both this and bounties were the norm before the respective scandals. Moreove,  Brady has never been tied to it considering the coaching staff acted independently, and due to the nature of the NFL, there's no way he could have known whether the calls he was being given would've come from illegally-obtained information.  

 

You need more? I can keep going. 

 

Now back to the topic of punishment: Brady's career forever has an asterisk next to it in the eyes of every non-Pats fan, going the distance to try and ban him, I repeat, after his first offense being only POSSIBLY caught red-handed. Anybody who watched the interview knows he's lying. He'll take maybe a fine and four games, and the Pats will maybe lose one more game than they would've this season because Garopollo is more than capable. Won't change anything banning him a whole year - there's a decentish chance they don't even win the division this year anyway. Let history damn him.