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Hold the phone.
Delete that tweet and remove those pictures from your Instagram account.
Tom Brady's feeling are hurt.
Yes, to anyone who has harbored confusion or frustration over the Deflategate controversy, anyone that has accused Brady*, Belichick*, and the New England Patriots* of compromising the integrity of the game by deliberately adjusting the equipment they use to better suit their purposes, just STOP!
It's too much for poor Tom*.In an interview this morning with a Boston-based radio show, Brady* said, "I personalized a lot of things and thought this was all about me and my feelings got hurt, and then I moved past it because it's not serving me."
News flash, Tom*: It is all about you.
It is about the quarterback that tells his equipment managers how he likes his footballs prepared and then approves them before the game starts.
It is about the player who was thrown under the bus by his own head coach (BostonGlobe).
It is about the person who appeared nervous and shaky in a press conference, who dodged questions, who redirected and deflected, and who took over 30 minutes to express one simple answer: I didn't do it.
But alas, Tom Brady* is able to move past it because "it's not serving" him.
My, how convenient.
Brady* also appeared in an interview with Chris Berman at half time of the Pro Bowl. Again, he was asked if the NFL had contacted him to hear his side of the story. His response:
"No, no. I believe they're going to after the season, so we'll deal with it after this game."
Do me a favor and read that answer again.
Here is the sequence of events:
You are accused of cheating in a conference championship game.
You play for a team that has a history of cheating.
You are the player that comes directly in contact with the equipment in question, and are in charge of specifying how you want that equipment prepared.
You hold a press conference and no former NFL players believe your explanation.
The NFL launches a thorough and complete investigation into the allegations levied directly against you, but delays in speaking with you at all about the issue.
You are allowed to move past it because it is not serving you.
It is clear as day that the NFL is deliberately stalling to defuse the situation and to avoid speaking with the responsible parties in an effort to remain blissfully ignorant to the true sequence of events.
As Conan Doyle famously wrote, "No shit, Sherlock."
And this too may come as news to Tom Brady*, but others see right through it.
Asked to comment on the potential punishment for the Patriots*, Seahawks' cornerback Richard Sherman had this to say:
"Will they be punished? Probably not. Not as long as Robert Kraft and Roger Goodell are still taking pictures at their respective homes. You talk about conflict of interest. As long as that happens, it won't affect them at all. Nothing will stop them."
The comments came on the heels of an interview in which Sherman had the audacity to imply that Tom Brady's* "Golden Boy" image was a charade.
“I think people somehow get a skewed view of Tom Brady that he is just a clean-cut, does-everything-right [guy] and never says a bad word to anyone — and we know him to be otherwise,” Sherman said. “I am sure in those moments of him yelling at the ref he is just saying, ‘Good job. Fantastic job. Keep it up'."
The Deflategate controversy has surely taken a toll on his image and reputation, and personally I could not be happier.
Just a few weeks ago, I wrote a piece in praise of Brady's* performance agains the Baltimore Ravens. As a lifelong Raiders fan, it was one of the most difficult things I've ever done, but I thought Brady was nearing a point of reluctant respect, much like Kobe Bryant.
Both athletes are among the best to play their respective sports. They've won championships, they've broken records, and they are equally loved and despised by fans around the world. They've beaten my teams and I've hated them for it, but as you continue to watch them perform and excel you cannot help but feel respect for what they have accomplished.
But the Deflategate scandal, and the subsequent reaction by the NFL and the Patriots*, has helped me find the major difference between Kobe Bryant and Tom Brady*.
Kobe Bryant tore his achilles, then made his two free throws before walking off the court into the locker room. Just last week, I saw him tear is rotator cuff and continue to play, shooting and dribbling with his left hand until his coach was forced to pull him out.
Nothing will stop Kobe because Kobe will stop at nothing.
Brady*, on the other hand, has nothing but excuses and cushions. The league will resurrect rules to save him, they will create new ones to protect him, and when his guilt is obvious, the league will look the other way entirely.
Nothing will stop Brady* because Brady* has the league in his pocket.
Recently ESPN revealed Kobe's secret dietary staple, one that helps him heal and recover and has enabled his illustrious career: bone-broth soup. Fortunately for Tom Brady*, a new medicine has been discovered to help him with his deflated balls and with his emotional sensitivity.
Feel better, Tom*.
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