What is the Media Saying About Deflategate?
GoLocalProv Sports Team
What is the Media Saying About Deflategate?
Once the Wells Report was released, columnists, reporters, and fans alike dissected it with a fine-toothed comb and attempted to understand what flaws -- or correct accusations -- existed. Ultimately, per Roger Goodell's initiative, the NFL handed out a punishment that fined the Patriots $1 million and stripped the four-time Super Bowl champions of a first-round draft pick in 2016 and a fourth-round draft pick in 2017.
SLIDES: See what sports media is saying on Deflategate BELOW
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTPatriots owner Robert Kraft has since announced he will not appeal the sanctions, but Tom Brady's plan to appeal his own four-game suspension appears to be intact.
In light of all the developments, reporters and columnists have articulated a wide range of opinions on where the Patriots' legacy lies, whether or not Goodell and the NFL handled the scandal through just measures, how much Tom Brady actually knew, and more. To get a sense at just how broad the spectrum is, here's a look at 10 different prominent news perspectives from across the country.
What is the Media Saying About Deflategate?
Gregg Doyel
The Indy Star
Indianapolis, Indiana
Columnist
Doyel has had some choice words for Brady and the Patriots throughout the whole scandal. Here is some of his most recent ramblings:
"He got away with it. Tom Brady did. So did the Patriots. They got away with it, all of them, because what they did was cheat the Colts in the AFC championship game."
Photo courtesy of The Indy Star
Colbert I. King
The Washington Post
Washington, D.C.
Columnist
King took it upon himself to question Brady’s good-boy image.
"Smooth faces, toothpaste smiles, every hair in place — manly men, skilled warriors and cut as clean as can be. All that’s seen on the surface — and so superficial. Folks out there, keep judging a book by its cover, and see what you get.
Photo courtesy of The Washington post
David Waldstein
The New York Times
New York, New York
Sports Reporter
Waldstein seriously questioned the Patriot’s response to the Wells Report.
"The Patriots’ rebuttal, which sets the team on a course directly at odds with the league, mirrored the Wells report in one way, by diminishing the impact of its arguments by including some questionable claims — most notably the deflator weight-loss argument, which only invites ridicule.”
Photo courtesy of Waldstein's Twitter account (@DavidWaldstein)
Austin Knoblauch
The LA Times
Los Angeles, California
Sports Reporter
Knoblauch recently reported that Senator Harry Reid of Nevada wondered why the NFL treats the Patriot’s conundrum with more scrutiny than the Washington Redskin’s controversial name.
"A day after the NFL suspended New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for four games and took away draft picks and fined the team, Reid suggested on Twitter that the league needs to get its priorities straight."
Photo courtesy of The LA Times
Don Banks
Sports Illustrated
Senior Writer
Banks shed light on the lack of perspective the NFL displayed when dishing out the respective punishments to Brady and the Patriots.
"Punishment was certainly in order. But it should have been a punishment that remotely fit the crime, not an over-the-top reaction to a practice that is thought to be all but part and parcel with playing quarterback in the NFL - that is, each passer’s never-ending search to create his best possible comfort zone with his most important piece of equipment, the football."
Photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated
Shalise Manza Young
The Boston Globe
Boston, Massachusetts
Sports Reporter
While many reporters throughout the country have been blasting New England, Young reported on former Patriot Matt Light’s supportive comments.
"Asked what he would say to those who believe Brady is a cheater, Light, who played with Brady for 11 years, replied, 'Well, you can say whatever you want in this world until you get punched in the mouth. Things change at that point, right?’”
Photo courtesy of Young's Twitter account (@shalisemyoung)
Dan Le Batard
The Miami Herald
Miami, Florida
Sports Columnist and Radio Host
Le Batard highly criticized the credibility of the NFL and Roger Goodell, especially considering how they handled scandals like Deflategate.
"That his random punishment system, making up the rules as he goes, keeps negative stories in the news cycle longer than normal as we debate and await over-punishment is not great for that image and integrity he’s trying so zealously to protect.”
Photo courtesy of Adweek
Nancy Armour
USA TODAY
Sports Columnist
Armour suggested that the Patriots attempts to clean up from the Deflategate scandal demonstrates desperation.
"The New England Patriots should have quit while they were ahead.”
Photo courtesy of Gannett Company, Inc.
Dave Hyde
The Sun Sentinel
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Columnist
Hyde sheds light on the toll Deflategate has taken on the famed "Patriot Way".
"For all their trophies, for all their slogans, and for all the manner Kraft has built a winning organization on and off the field, there's only one way to view the Patriots now: They're this generation's Al Davis Raiders. 'If you're not cheating, you're not trying,' those Raiders said."
Photo courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
Tim Cowlishaw
The Dallas Morning News
Dallas, Texas
Columnist
Cowlishaw believes that Brady's punishment is merely a result of the league's perpetual conquest for punishment.
"We live in the era of Great Punishment, and Tom Brady is merely the latest to fall victim to our punitive wishes."
Photo courtesy of ESPN
