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Deadspin, Forbes

Deflategate: The NFL Asked the Patriots to Make Themselves Look Guilty

May 19, 2015  •  Post A Comment

Update at 11:25 a.m. PT on May 19, 2015. In related Deflategate news today, this just in from Forbes:

“Patriots Owner Robert Kraft said today that he would not appeal the ruling handed down by the NFL Commissioner’s office over ‘deflategate’, but would “reluctantly” accept the team’s punishment for the good of the league.

“Speaking at a press conference at a meeting of the league’s owners, Kraft said the NFL was defined by the ‘strength of partnership’ between the teams and the NFL’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, and that the ‘agenda’ of any one team could not outweigh the ‘collective good of 32’ teams.

Previously, Kraft had told Sports Illustrated, “To receive the harshest penalty in league history is just not fair.”

Regarding Deflategate, “one very paradoxical question still looms large: If the Patriots, as they maintain, shouldn’t be punished because there’s no evidence their equipment staff deflated footballs, why did the Patriots suspend the two staffers accused of the deflation?”

So writes Barry Petchesky at the respected website Deadspin.

The story continues, “Locker room attendant Jim McNally and equipment assistant John Jastremski — The Deflator and Dorito Dink — were suspended indefinitely by the Patriots on May 6, upon the release of the Wells Report but nearly a week before the NFL’s announcement of discipline for the Patriots and for Tom Brady. McNally and Jastremski (Tuesdays this fall, on TNT!) were thrown under the bus by Brady during the investigation, but it does seem odd that the Patriots acted before they had to, and didn’t leave the punishment to the NFL.”

Petchesky then quotes ESPN’s Adam Schefter with the answer to his question: “For those asking why Patriots suspended two employees if those two did nothing wrong, as New England claims: NFL asked Pats to suspend them prior to discipline being handed down, per a league source in New York. New England obliged with the NFL’s request.”

This brings up a host of issues, as Petchesky notes and then talks about. To read his take on all this, please click here, which takes you to his original article that was published today, May 19, 2015.

 

 

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