“Free Tom Brady! Fire Roger Goodell!”: Patriots Fans Once Got ‘Arrested’ For Staging Protests Against The Deflategate Verdict

The 2014 Deflategate scandal is a well-known and well-despised dark period in the NFL’s history. Perhaps one of the very few situations where the legendary Tom Brady is on the wrong side of the history books. However, during this affair, there was a rather humorous incident that took place in the NFL offices.

After the first verdict of the Deflategate scandal, a few Patriots fans took it upon themselves to force the NFL to overturn the ruling. A handful of protestors showed up at the NFL’s headquarters in Manhattan, New York, and handcuffed themselves to the desk in the main lobby. Did they end up achieving their goals? Well, unless it was spending a night at a police station, then no.

Police soon cleared up what can be better termed as a distraction than a protest, and had them all locked up for an entire night. Reportedly, the protestors were people running a satirical, pro-New England website called Barstool Sports. Site founder and owner David Portnoy soon confirmed his site’s involvement in the protests. He was also reportedly selling t-shirts calling for Brady’s “freedom.”

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Tom Brady in Deflategate 2014: a scandal that takes your breath away, literally

2014 was an interesting year for the NFL. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots won their 5th Super Bowl, that too by overcoming a 28-3 deficit to register the single largest comeback in Super Bowl history. However, the Patriots’ previous game, the AFC Championship, is what played spoilsport in an otherwise perfectly fine season for them.

The Patriots were accused of deliberately deflating game balls in order to give themselves an advantage over the visiting team, the Indianapolis Colts. What was a celebratory evening for many turned out to be a shocking introduction to the news that the NFL will be investigating them for foul play. Though Brady and head coach Bill Belichick denied the accusation, it did not work.

After a thorough investigation, the NFL slapped a 4 game ban on Tom Brady and a $1 million fine on the New England Patriots. What’s more, the Patriots also lost their first and fourth-round picks in the 2015 draft, a further blow.

While the Patriots served their penalty in silence, Brady filed a lawsuit contesting his ban. Though he played all games in 2015, the courts upheld the ban, and he had to miss 4 games in 2016. This ended the entire Deflategate saga. This also resulted in the NFL bringing forward new regulations with regard to ball pressure monitoring.

Scandals are not an uncommon thing in the NFL, with the recent one surrounding the NFL’s concussion protocols prompting a reform. However, are scandals the necessary evils need to ensure that the future of the NFL is cleaner and brighter?

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