Ben Affleck Goes On Profanity-Laced Tirade About DeflateGate On Bill Simmons' New Show
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Wednesday was Bill Simmons' big night as he premiered his new HBO show Any Given Wednesday, but the morning-after talk of the town is obsessed with Ben Affleck's belligerent rant about DeflateGate.
Prodding one of the first guests in the show's history - about the most insufferable topic in sports history - Simmons brought up DeflateGate and simply let Affleck loose. The actor's main issue was that Tom Brady's four-game suspension for his role in the alleged systematic deflation of footballs happened because he refused to give up his cell phone - an understandable decision that would have opened up all kinds of unnecessary cans of worms had he done the opposite.
"DeflateGate is the ultimate [expletive] outrage of sports ever - it's so [expletive] stupid," Affleck says in the video, which is very, extremely NSFW for the large volume of F-bombs peppered throughout.
"If I got in trouble for all the things my friends called themselves, I would be finished," Affleck added, referring to Jim McNally's "Deflator" texts, arguably the most "incriminating" "evidence" in the whole debacle.
Beyond the potential personal information about Brady's family that could have lived on his cell phone, Affleck also theorized that Brady may have expressed his personal opinion about his colleagues and opponents across the league, which if taken out of context could have come across way worse than anything he could have done with the footballs. It's also just strange that the league is railroading one of the all-time greats like it is.
"Goodell ... doesn't have the decency to just say, 'You know what, this is stupid, I was wrong,'" Affleck continued. "'We're running our greatest player ever through this mill of humiliation and shame, which is totally unwarranted, for the sake of our own bruised egos and embarrassment, and to paper over our own mismanagement.'"
Affleck's slurred speech in certain parts made Twitter SJWs (and countless early-morning headlines) accuse him of being inebriated during the rant. But the more rational crowd likened Affleck to Stumbling Sully from Southie getting guided out of the L Street Tavern and plopped into a chair as Simmons says "DeflateGate. Go."
I really didn't think Ben Affleck's "drunk rant" was all that shocking. It's called being a passionate sports fan who's had a few beers
— Sarah ???????? (@palmys05) June 23, 2016
Ben Affleck went to peak levels of "Drunk Boston sports fan" on Any Given Wednesday
— Vadim Jacobson (@VadimGunKelly) June 23, 2016
listened to Ben Affleck's rant and I'm no fan of Tom Brady, but I didn't see any drunken slurring rant. Just your average Boston sports fan.
— bored н€λÐphoηës (@bullmastiffdog) June 23, 2016
Despite awesomely going to bat for Brady and the Patriots, Affleck possibly being drunk is no joke - he has a real history of alcohol problems. He went to rehab in 2001 and alcoholism was rumored to have contributed to his breakup with actress Jennifer Garner.
Simmons shot down the idea that Affleck was drunk during the interview, inferring that he was simply tired.
BTW - we taped AGW in the late-AM, Ben got fired up about DeflateGate during the convo, that's it.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) June 23, 2016
What did you think about Affleck's rant? Share your thoughts in the comments and listen to Toucher & Rich's thoughts on the interview below.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.