The New England Patriots have had scandals regarding the team in the past. From the “Spy-gate” scandal when they were accused of stealing plays from the New York Jets in 2007 to the “Tuck Rule game” when quarterback Tom Brady got a second chance to win a game based on a controversial call, the Patriots are in the news again for another scandal, “Deflate-gate.”
It all started when the Colts informed the NFL they played with over deflated balls in the AFC Championship game. Many thought at first that the weather could have been the reason why 11 of the 12 game balls were deflated. But that was not the case, further investigation showed that Patriot officials tampered with the ball in exchange for rewards such as sneakers and even money. The NFL went to Jim McNally and Jeff Jastremski, Patriot employees who were reluctant to hand over their phones to NFL officials, which raised a red flag. As the NFL looked deeper, they finally came to a conclusion that Tom Brady was aware of the balls being deflated and he would have a system set up with the two Patriots officials for game balls to be deflated before game time. The NFL also found that this was an ongoing season thing and was not limited just to the AFC Championship.
In the end, the Patriots got what they deserved. Tom Brady will be suspended for the first four games of next season. The Patriots have been fined $1 million, loss of next year’s first round draft pick and their fourth round pick in the 2017 draft. Many wanted the NFL to strip the Patriots of their recent Super Bowl title, but that was never going to happen. Although the team worked hard for that Super Bowl title, that title will be tainted with a remembrance of the Deflate-gate scandal.
