Courtesy: USA Today Sports
This past week’s news cycle has been dominated by talks of integrity in sports, deflated footballs and cheating the game
courtesy of the New England Patriots.
But just how big of a deal is this? Or is this another “talker” to fill in the two-week gap of no professional football games that matter?
Think back to the 2012 NFL season when the Baltimore Ravens went to the Super Bowl and defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the “Harbowl.” Leading up to media day was a story that highlighted one of the most polarizing sports figures in the game — Ray Lewis — and about his use of a supplement to aid in his recovery from a torn triceps muscle.
Deer antler spray was the talk of the town in New Orleans, despite vehement denials from No. 52 and it blew up like no other because of a few things:
1. Sensationalism of the supplement itself: Unfortunately, it is easily accessible, unnecessary (but we all need an advantage, right?) , fairly cheap (just Google it) and used by more athletes than most realize — Ray Rice was a regular endorser.
2. The before and after pictures: Just take a look at Lewis’ arms and you could tell where the deficiency was and why he looked like RoboCop in the Super Bowl.
3. The player itself: Ray already has a history of being a shady fellow i.e. Atlanta Super Bowl party incident and has just as many haters as he does fans (mostly in Baltimore) for the way he acts on and off the field.
4. It made an irrelevant person famous: Who was that trainer again who came forward? Yeah… we all forgot him too after his fifteen seconds of fame.
Was this a big deal? Kind of, but unfortunately it happens all the time and mostly behind closed doors until the public outcry is too great. The culture of sports today doesn’t promote or believe in integrity — no matter how many inspirational quotes our favorite athletes say, there is always the feeling of, “Yeah, but…” in the back of our minds.
Enter Deflategate.
1. Sensationalism of what was done: Quarterbacks and kickers work with the equipment managers all the time in determining the right feel for the balls. Some like them a little pumped up, some don’t. Referrees always check the balls to make sure they aren’t too much towards one extreme of the spectrum. They would know if a ball was deflated.
2. The before and after… stories: So… the Ravens had a feeling this was happening, didn’t say a word about it, the Colts felt the balls weren’t standard, Mark Brunell basically cries during an ESPN segment, Brad Johnson paid guys $7,500 to deflate 100 footballs back during his Super Bowl year with the Buccaneers, Bill Belichick is on Fox News, CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC and Matt Leinhart is on CBS This Morning. Ridiculous? That’s up to the consumer of the media.
3. The player/organization itself: New England is known for “knowing” and/or stretching and/or breaking the rules for awhile now. Bill Belichick took a record-setting 500k fine and lost some draft picks as if nothing had happened and still built a winner after Spygate. Tom Brady is known for essentially creating the “Tuck Rule” and even referenced Isis in a smug way during his presser addressing the issue — not a wise business decision.
4. It made irrelevant people famous: Matt Leinart on CBS This Morning… is there anything else that needs to be said when an NFL bust is speaking on… well the NFL?
Moral of the story?
Not having meaningful football in America for two weeks can make for a boring sports news cycle. While there are plenty of issues regarding the integrity of the game, as someone who is big with integrity, this is not surprising at all.
Sports, like most things, have zero integrity nowadays and that’s why the NFL is rooting extra hard for the Seahawks Feb. 1. Unless of course, they want the “cheaters” to be their champions for a year.
Regardless of your opinions on the Patriots, they are in the game for a reason and that can’t be changed.
