New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was left scrambling during Deflategate and many around the country don't think he did a very good job of escaping the pressure. Our columnist, Mike Preston, says it's about time the NFL hammered Brady and the Patriots.
Here's what columnists are saying about the NFL handing down a four-game suspension to Brady and hitting the Patriots hard as well, fining them $1 million and making them give up two draft picks, including a No. 1:
Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, writes that this is the perfect ending for Brady and the Patriots:
Four months after the NFL crowned Tom Brady and the New England Patriots as Super Bowl champions, the league has formally determined they are also brazen cheaters.
Ross Tucker, Sports On Earth, has thoughts on Brady's self-defense:
It took almost 38 years, but in the wake of his four-game suspension, we have finally found something that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady isn't good at: defending himself.
Ian O'Connor, ESPN. com, says it's time to come clean:
Brady did this to Brady. He was so desperate to win and to keep proving over and over he should've been the No. 1 pick in the 2000 draft, not the 199th pick, that, as the Wells report makes apparent, he conspired with a couple of low-level staffers to doctor game balls to his liking.
Peter King, SI.com, writes that the penalties prove the NFL doesn't play favorites:
But the biggest loser in the case was not Kraft, or his Patriots. It was Brady. Forever more, he'll have to live, fairly or unfairly, with having been called a cheater by the NFL office.
William C. Rhoden, New York Times, says the penalties are a matter of perspective:
The Colts, who were cheated, get to stew over their 45-7 title game drubbing. The Patriots get to keep their trophy.
Where's the justice?