When does cheating become acceptable? According to the Judge Berman if you have enough Superbowl rings it is okay for you to manipulate the game of football. On September 3rd, 2015 around 1 p.m., Judge Richard Berman overruled Tom Brady’s suspension. This makes one question the integrity of the league itself

This seven month process of deflate gate has completely turned against the NFL as an organization and has made people question the league itself. The case itself has put the league’s integrity in jeopardy. People may never know what happened leading up to the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. Despite this the things that we do know has to lead people to believe that the game itself was manipulated.

After the game was ended, and an investigation was launched and it was discovered that 9 out of 10 footballs used in the game were under-deflated. In addition to this, when the investigation became public and Tom Brady was being investigated, Brady quickly destroyed his cell phone.

Yes, it is true that the deflating of the footballs did not have an effect on the AFC championship, as the Patriots completely dominated the Colts. It wasn’t the passing the game of the Patriots that beat the Colts instead it was Legarrate Blount’s dominate performance in the backfield. This makes one question what other games were these footballs deflated? How many other games did Tom Brady lead the New England Patriots to victory with deflated footballs.

Brady also stated in his defense that he felt no difference in the deflation of the footballs. Think about how many times an NFL quarter back who has played in the league for 15 years touches a football and throws a football a day. Any person of their profession notices when something is off even if it is a very small matter. For example, a carpenter knows when a measurement is off or a race car driver knows when there is something wrong with their car. So I find it almost impossible for Tom Brady, who is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play, to not notice a variation in the football.

Another point brought up in favor of Tom Brady’s appeal is the fact that there are other NFL players who commit worse crimes, that receive almost the same game suspension. With this being said, In no way am I saying that is okay for any player to act in a way that leads to domestic violence. These suspensions however that deal with fights or domestic violence are all off the field incidents and affect the game in no way. What Tom Brady did completely manipulated the game and tarnished the integrity of the NFL itself.

Many players around the league sided with Tom Brady. Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, stated that he actually prefers the footballs to be a little over-inflated. This point brings up the point that the NFL needs to change their rule altogether. In a game both teams need to use the same footballs all game, then there will be no question of cheating. Football is the only sport where teams use different balls in the game.

Tom Brady might not have deserved a four-game suspension, but he did deserve some punishment other than a seamlessly small fine to a multi-millionaire.