Patriots withdraw appeal of NFL 'Deflategate' penalty. Why now?
An offseason in the National Football League (NFL) is now a sporting event in itself.聽
Between weeks of pre-draft coverage, , players getting into , and on top of it all, throw in a cheating scandal from the most successful franchise in the last decade-plus, you have a compelling television drama.聽
However, a Tuesday afternoon from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft that the team would drop the appeal of their punishments from the "Deflategate" affair let some of the hot air out of a high-profile story that may have ended up in court.
"Believing in the strength of the partnership and the 32 teams, we have concentrated power of adjudication in the office of the commissioner," Kraft said in a press conference. "Although I might disagree with what was decided, I do have respect for the commissioner, and believe he鈥檚 doing what he perceives is in the best interest of the full 32."
The team was originally docked a 2016 first-round draft pick and a 2017 fourth-round draft pick, in addition to a $1 million fine. Patriots game footballs used in the 2015 AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts were found to be lacking sufficient air pressure in an and sanctioned by the league. On May 6, the punishment was by NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent in letters sent to both Mr. Kraft, and quarterback Tom Brady who was suspended four games for his role in the incident.
Kraft had denounced the disciplinary measures shortly after they were handed down, saying in part, "Today鈥檚 punishment ... was based completely on circumstantial rather than hard or conclusive evidence." 聽
Kraft's decision to withdraw the appeal, has on Mr. Brady's appeal of his suspension filed by the NFL Players' Association, according to NBC Sports.聽
The decision to end the appeal raises some interesting questions. On Monday, ESPN reported that the Patriots and the NFL had engaged in "" in an attempt to stave off a nasty back and forth and possible litigation.
Before the announcement, Kraft had seemed like he intended to fight the charges,聽 Peter King of Sports Illustrated (SI) the Deflategate saga was,聽"an accusation of wrongdoing, without proof.鈥�
However, one had to have the feeling Kraft was itching to make a deal when he was hesitant to say if he was willing to circumvent league by-laws to appeal a league punishment of an organization telling SI, "I鈥檓 not going to comment on that at this point in time. I鈥檓 going to leave it. I won鈥檛 say.鈥�
NBC Sports, speculated that there might have been a wink-wink agreement that the league would commute or possibly overturn Brady's suspension.聽
Another reason why Kraft may have decided to give up the fight is his well-publicized friendship with Commissioner Roger Goodell. Though in his interview with SI following the punishment, Kraft was cold on the matter and just said, "You鈥檒l have to ask him.鈥�
Perhaps Kraft dropped the appeal out of fear of being labeled as hypocritical following criticism that came in from all sides after Mr. Goodell's handling of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice's domestic violence incident. Last September, Kraft took to CBS "This Morning" to for the embattled commissioner.聽
There is little history of legal action taken by a team against the league. Late Oakland Raiders owner had a renegade reputation during his ownership, over the right to move his team to Los Angeles, which ended in a settlement. He the case he filed, when , claiming the league sabotaged his negotiations with the city of Los Angeles.
However, none of these cases dealt with a team's disciplinary record, and some experts thought that Kraft did of today's game.聽
