There wasn’t too much happening for NFL meme makers to focus on except Tom Brady getting punished with a four game suspension for his part in the deflated balls scandal, while the New England Patriots were fined $1 million and lost two draft picks, including a first rounder.
Too harsh? Just right? Too lenient? It probably depends on what team you support. The punishment in the rule book for tampering with a football is $25,000, but that’s not set in stone and Goodell or Troy Vincent have the authority to dish out any punishment they like, unless the CBA doesn’t allow them to.
Brady was punished severely, and along with him the franchise itself, because he hurt the integrity of the league. This was exposed in the week leading up to the Super Bowl, focusing on the AFC championship game. That tainted the entire integrity of the championship event for the NFL. Brady not cooperating and actually lying about him knowing one of the involved staffers made it worse for him.
Maybe there’s going to be an appeal, and maybe the fine, with the draft picks and the suspension get reduced. But the NFL sent out a statement about how important it is for the league to keep cheating, as minor as it can be, away from the game, and thus making it more severe than PED use or even domestic violence.
