The NFL openly admitted that the punishment against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots for their alleged role in Deflategate was influenced by their history of rule violations, but Roger Goodell seemed to forget that in an interview on Tuesday morning.
Less than an hour after ESPN released its lengthy Outside the Lines report calling the Deflategate punishment a “makeup call” for the mishandling of Spygate eight years ago, Goodell told ESPN Radio that one incident had nothing to do with the other.
“I’m not aware of any connection between the Spygate procedures and the procedures we went through here,” Goodell told ESPN Radio, per Frank Schwab of Shutdown Corner. “We obviously learn any time we go through a process, try to improve it and get better at it, but there’s no connection in my mind to the two instances.”
Goodell should probably go back and read the statement the NFL released when it announced that Brady would be suspended four games and the Patriots would be fined $1 million and forced to forfeit two draft picks. Here’s the relevant portion:
“Here, there are several factors that merit strong consideration in assessing discipline. The first is the club’s prior record. In 2007 the club and several individuals were sanctioned for videotaping signals of opposing defensive coaches in violation of the Constitution and Bylaws. Under the Integrity of the Game Policy, this prior violation of competitive rules was properly considered in determining the discipline in this case.”
While Goodell was obviously trying to make it clear that his intention was not to atone for botching Spygate, you can’t say there is “no connection” between the two instances when you already admitted the sanctions were more severe because of the first rule violation.
Once again, we have a perfect example of Goodell talking out of both sides of his face. If you remember, the commissioner also blatantly lied to make Brady look more dishonest after the Deflategate appeal hearing. Whether you think the Patriots are serial cheaters or not, we should all be able to agree on Goodell’s overall incompetence as leader of the NFL.
