Free at last! Free at Last! Thank God Almighty, Brady is free at last!
After the highly controversial Deflategate ruling, the entire nation has been desperately waiting to hear the court ruling of Brady’s appeal. Finally, Thursday, September 3^rd, U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman removed the NFL’s four game suspension of the all-time great.
In one corner of the ring is the famous and well-respected football icon, Tom Brady. In the other corner is the infamous and despised NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The two went toe to toe in the courtroom, swinging metaphorical punches at one another in hopes of winning the case. Eventually a depleted, battered, bruised and bloody mess came out of the courtroom. After a 3 million dollar reputation reconstruction, Goodell’s devastating wounds were still irreparable.
Interestingly enough, after the commissioner’s accusations, it was Brady’s reputation that was initially being dismantled as the allegations seeped into the media. Ironically, Goodell’s intentions completely backfired and destroyed his already tainted and tarnished resume. His shortcoming in the courtroom this year have been a mockery of his self-appointed power as judge, jury and executioner for the NFL.
Despite the NFL’s early claims against Brady, Tom is now being viewed as an iconic figure within the Players’ Association and by a majority of the general public. Having a prior understanding of the documented punishment for what is illegal or against the rules is extremely important to Judge Berman. He stated that this idea is at the core of the NFL’s and Players Association’s new collective bargaining agreement, “and, for that matter, of our criminal and civil justice systems.”
Whether Brady is innocent or guilty is not what’s important. The clear issue is that Goodell constantly oversteps his powers by invoking his personal agenda onto cases. Essentially the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. Losing several draft picks, a million dollar fine, and a four game suspension is absolutely outrageous considering the documented punishment for improperly inflated footballs is just a 25,000 dollar fine. The NFL’s case had “several significant legal deficiencies,” stated Berman. “Because there was no notice of a four-game suspension in the circumstances presented here, Commissioner Goodell may be said to have `dispensed his own brand of industrial justice,'”
The upshot of all of this legal wrangling is that Brady is free. The star-studded quarterback will now lead the Patriots in the first game of the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In all likelihood, he will play throughout the entire year regardless of the NFL’s appeal on the ruling. Now there are two questions remaining: first, what will happen to the disgraced and discredited Commissioner Goodell? And second, will the Patriots nation be reimbursed with its million dollars and first-round draft pick?