Those Cheating Patriots  

The Patriots are Cheaters. They have been cheaters, are currently cheaters and will always be cheaters.  Their latest illegal act was deflating footballs in the AFC Championship game in which the Colts called them out on it.  After winning the Super Bowl, the NFL hired Ted Wells to investigate this and he determined the Pats were involved in deflating the footballs and Tom Brady more than likely ordered it. The Patriots were caught again and as a repeat offender they deserved a harsher punishment than teams like the Chargers and Vikings who were guilty of the exact same thing.  Roger Goodell showed no mercy and punished Tom Brady four games, the team lost a 1st round pick in 2016 and their 2014 season has a gigantic asterisk next to it.

First praise must be given to Ted Wells for a job well done. Just like the Jonathan Martin and Ray Rice scandals, Wells was hired to find the answers to what really happened. What was really remarkable was despite getting millions and millions of dollars from the NFL, he didn’t let that cloud his judgement and affect his ability to find the truth! Instead he found what we all knew all along; the Patriots intentionally deflated the balls to have an unfair advantage.

This isn’t their case of cheating, that begins in 2001 with “Spygate” when they started the intolerable act of filming the other team’s signals. Since they got caught doing that in 2007, they went another route with deflating footballs. It is very possible they are doing other things as well as cheating is an addiction for these Patriots and they will never stop finding a way to break the rules to get an unfair advantage.  You don’t see teams like the Broncos, Colts or Steelers breaking the rules to gain an unfair advantage, just the Patriots.

But what of the present? Tom Brady is currently appealing his suspension. Brady should follow the actions of his employer and drop his appeal and take the suspension he deserved. If anything Brady is lucky to not get a worse punishment for the horrible act of deflating footballs.  Going further in to this matter will mean more information will be leaked, evidence that will turn Brady from the White Knight he currently is, to Ben Affleck. It would be wise of Brady to admit he was guilty and apologize for his actions of deflating. Robert Kraft should do the same thing. They need to apologize for these illegal acts.

 Now we look to the future as these Patriots will not stop cheating due to the loss of a few draft picks. Goodell was too soft on these repeat offenders, multiple first should have been the punishment along with a lifetime ban for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Even that won’t be enough. The Patriots deserve the NFL version of the death penalty. A multi-year postseason ban would be the necessary punishment. The Patriots have cheated due to their desire to win championships and removing that possibility will show them cheating has real consequences. Only then and and by removing the two main culprits in Brady and Belichick will solve this cheating problem. If it doesn’t, Kraft should be forced to sell the team to Bon Jovi.

In conclusion, winning the Super Bowl was a Pyrrhic victory for the Patriots. While they got the trophy, it came at great cost in the loss of future draft picks and their reputation further tarnished. The Patriots have an asterisk next to each Super Bowl they have won and every other achievement since 2001. The cheating by them won’t stop but thankfully this year they will play the Giants in the Super Bowl and lose.