Deflategate has been blown out of proportion, and Tom Brady has no one to blame but himself.
On Jan. 22, the New England Patriots quarterback stood in front of the world with the chance to treat the alleged rules violation with the triviality it deserved.
Asked whether he knew anything about the underinflated balls the team used during the first half of the AFC Championship game, Brady could have given a simple answer: yes.
He could have said he made a mistake, or maybe that the equipment staff went further than he had intended. Anything that resembled taking responsibility for the situation would have deflated — sorry, I had to — the situation right then and there, and he likely would have never come close to a suspension.
But instead, the two-time NFL MVP and sure-fire future Hall of Famer decided to protect his image, denying any wrongdoing or knowledge of the incident and sending us all spiraling down the rabbit hole for the last five months and counting.
If he was actually innocent, then fine. The Ted Wells investigation was the perfect opportunity for Brady and his camp to clear his name.
But rather than fully cooperating, Brady refused to give Wells any access to text messages sent between the quarterback and the equipment staff, including the self-described "deflator." And according to the NFL’s statement released Monday upholding Brady’s four-game suspension, not only did the quarterback deny investigators access, but he ordered his cell phone to be destroyed.
Brady claims he routinely destroys his old phones for security reasons, but if you knew you had done nothing wrong, why would you destroy evidence that could prove your innocence?
I’ve heard the analogy that in the same way you would never let law enforcement search your home without a warrant, Brady had no need to give up his personal property without obligation.
That’s fair, despite the fact that he was given the option to allow his lawyer to filter only pertinent text messages to the investigators.
But when you burn your house down the day after law enforcement asks to come inside, even the most trusting person in the world is going to have serious doubts about your credibility.
Even after all of that had taken place, though, the league was reportedly still willing to reach a settlement and lessen his suspension as long as Brady admitted guilt. But the quarterback’s camp was only willing to accept a fine — not a suspension — for failing to comply with the investigation, not for breaking any rules related to ball inflation.
That obviously backfired when the suspension was upheld Monday, a ruling Brady essentially forced the league to make.
Commissioner Roger Goodell didn’t want to suspend Brady. He would have preferred the entire situation to go away quietly without one of the faces of the league missing a quarter of the season, including the opening Thursday night game to kickoff the year.
However, once Brady agitated the circumstances into the biggest story of the offseason, Goodell couldn’t afford to play favorites.
Now, the two are headed for a battle in court because of Brady’s refusal to admit guilt or defeat. And that’s the problem.
The same tenacity that has led him to four Super Bowl victories has turned what would have been a minor blemish on his resume into a sizeable dent.
Make no mistake — the resume is still one of the best the sport has ever seen, regardless of the outcome in court.
But Brady’s image is no longer as perfect as it used to be, and he’s the one responsible for it.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has a ball tossed to him during warmups before the NFL football AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts on Jan. 18, 2015 (Photo credit Matt Slocum/Associated Press).
