I have a friend, Jake Haas, whose motto throughout college was, “if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.” Mr. Haas was not so much referring to his academic career, but to the countless drinking/video games that we partook in during our time receiving a higher education.
Much like in Mario Kart (N64 is THE only version), cheaters have a better chance of winning and if the short cut doesn’t work, you can always use another shortcut later in the race. Obviously, Tom Brady and the Patriots have played a couple of races on the Mario Kart circuit.
On Monday, Roger Goodell suspended the NFL’s “Golden Boy” for the first 4 games of the 2015 season for his role in ‘Deflate Gate.’ Goodell also hit the Patriots with a 1 million dollar fine while docking them 2 future draft picks, one in each of the next 2 drafts.
Should Brady have been suspended for his “role” in deflate gate? Yes. Should the Patriot have been fined for their QB’s actions? Yes. Do the Patriots have a history of cheating? Yes. Would Robert Kraft and Patriot fans trade their Super Bowl championships to be viewed in the eyes of the nation as a “clean” organization? No.
Honestly, I am indifferent about the length of the suspension or how hefty the fine was going to be for the Patriots. There is not a punishment on the plant that would make the Patriot regret their actions besides stripping them of their championship.
And that was never going to happen.
Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Tom Brady… All of these athletes are cheaters to certain extent but have had historic careers while amassing generational wealth so that their kids, kids, kids will never have to work. I don’t think any of them would trade positions with you or I considering what cheating has given them over the years.
Keep your goody-two-shoes attitude to yourself when it comes to pro athletes and their teams because they don’t care how they are perceived outside of their families. Especially when they are winning championships or make ridiculous amounts of money.
Feel free to hate the Patriots and Tom Brady but it’s not going to change anything. This is not the first time a player/team has cheated to win, and it will definitely not be the last time. People are programmed to win by any means necessary and it should not surprise anyone that the best athletes in the world would try to gain a competitive advantage.
That is just the world we live in.
Little did I realize that Haas was smarter than he looked… in sports, cheaters prosper and “if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying,” and you are a loser. The punishments will never be severe enough to deter players/organizations from cheating because the rewards of becoming great outweigh the risks.
@WesEvans24