Keller @ Large: NFL Doesn't Care About Right And Wrong
BOSTON (CBS) - Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe is doing what he does best, stirring the pot with a piece on the reinstatement of Tom Brady's Deflategate suspension, headline: PATRIOTS BROUGHT THIS OVERPUNISHMENT ON THEMSELVES.
"They are like the Nixon White House in 1972," he writes. "They do not have to break into Democratic National Committee headquarters and engage in dirty tricks in order to beat George McGovern in the general election. But they did it anyway."
It's a good column, but it omits something important – context.
The NFL's efforts to hold teams and players accountable for their behavior seems like a very subjective endeavor, without much passion for defining right and wrong. At least half the time, it's incomprehensible.
Call it a five-zero tolerance policy.
The Atlanta Falcons pumped in crowd noise at home games for two years, and got a slap on the wrist compared to Deflategate.
Don't get me started on Ray Rice and Greg Hardy.
And these are the guys who get caught. The clearance rate is low.
Rules are grossly violated on nearly every play. Do you really think they're behaving at the bottom of the pile when there's a fumble?
The Patriots have had their issues, but are we really supposed to believe they're unique? Let's be candid, pro football was never primarily about rules being followed.
I don't know, Dan.
I think Nixon would have made a fine NFL commissioner.
Listen to Jon's commentary: