http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tom-br...164330925.html
Sales merchandised doubled. Yeah....Bob Kraft isn't hurting too much out of all this. He's made millions off this whole fiasco.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DYoungJelly
Integrity?
Couldn't help but chuckle a little.
We're talking about the league that facilitates prescription drug proliferation and addiction?
The league that went to the ends of the earth to cover up concussion related information until they couldn't?
The league whose officials were caught on the Dallas Cowboy party bus with a bunch of future Hooters' waitresses?
The league who didn't realize knocking a woman out cold was really bad until the news media told them it was after they botched the punishment?
The league who knows Jerry Jones is talking to other teams' running backs and determines the tampering rules don't apply to the Cowboys?
The league who creates a "Commissioner's exempt list" out of thin air?
The league who penalized the Redskins 30+ million dollars for violating cap rules that didn't exist?
This league does whatever it wants with no consistency.
Every team breaks rules and most of those violations end exactly like the post above says, with a phone call that says we know what you're doing, quit.
Brady's punishment is a farce. Zero impact on the competitiveness of that game.
Intentionally roughing the passer has more of an impact on the outcomes of games than deflating a ball 1.2 psi. Suspend those guys. They are intentionally breaking a rule that impacts the competitiveness of the game.
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I think you are confusing examples of "integrity of the game" with morality aspects. The NFL could care less if some 50 year old NFL vet offs himself due to lasting brain damage. It doesn't affect the game. Them not giving a shit is definitely a humanitarian/morality issue. Them not caring about domestic abuse doesn't affect the integrity of the game, it affects their image, which in turns affects their sponsors. Social issues don't affect the game, only their image.
When we talk about affecting the "integrity of the game", what we really mean is affecting the "outcome of the game". This is the point to which Joe/Schneed are talking about. What can affect the integrity(outcome) of the game is cheating. Video taping defensive hand signals, using stickem on their hands, pumping in fake crowd noise, deflating balls. This doesn't mean any of these actions WILL affect the outcome (integrity), just that it could. Even allowing the potential of these game changers could affect the public's perception (and value) of the game. That means more than anything in the grand scheme of it.
Also, I personally don't believe the Patriots (and Brady) were hammered the way they were merely over deflating balls or the integrity of the game. This was a cumulative punishment that took into the account their previous cheating history, the lying and refusal to cooperate, and lastly the actual act of deflating the balls. The bigger factors were their lying/cover up and past history.