5 People Who Hope Tom Brady's 'Deflategate' Appeal Fails
Tom Brady is one of the most polarizing athletes in the world.
His lifestyle and attitude are the punchline of people's jokes, while his play on the field is superb.
Brady is worshipped in New England, and he's considered to be one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.
Outside of New England, however, Brady is typically reviled. (ESPN is in New England, by the way, and Brady is not reviled there.)
People hate Tom Brady for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to his ego, his success and his attitude.
Tom Brady and the New England Patriots have been at the center of two huge NFL scandals over the span of Brady's career: Spygate and Deflategate.
Even though Brady wasn't directly involved in Spygate, that hasn't stopped the various vitriolic comments from coming his way. It also has done nothing to help sway fans, peers and others away from the opposition.
Below, I've listed a few members who may be part of that population. This is a list of groups and individuals who can't fathom the thought of Tom Brady's four-game suspension being lifted.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers fans
While I could mention any of the four teams the Patriots will play in their first four games, the Steelers fan base has the most hope that Brady will not play.
The Steelers will face off against the defending Super Bowl champions to kick off the NFL season with a chance to make a major statement in regard to the direction of their year ahead.
2. Matt Flynn
Flynn has bounced around from team (Packers) to team (Raiders), to team (Bills), to team (back to Packers), to team (Patriots) in a matter of roughly three years.
If Tom Brady were to be able to start week one, Matt Flynn would be expendable.
Last year, the Patriots kept only two quarterbacks (Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo) on their roster. I don't think Matt Flynn would make them think about discontinuing that trend.
3. Sports Writers
Sometimes, controversies drive sports conversation. The Deflategate topic has been pounded home ad nauseam over the last few months by various radio shows and sports websites.
If they could continue the Deflategate trend and constantly speculate about what will happen when Tom Brady returns, it would make life a lot easier for Patriots reporters.
Additionally, if Tom Brady did fail in his effort to appeal his suspension, work would go a bit more smoothly for the reporters who spoke negatively about him over the past few months.
4. Roger Goodell
The way this situation plays out will most directly affect the work of the NFL Commissioner.
In recent years, Goodell hasn't exactly made the best decisions on the suspensions of NFL players.
Goodell will be held accountable for his questionable actions as Commissioner of the League, as has always been the case, and the media will never be slow to disagree with him.
If Goodell suspended an innocent player for four games, he's going to be viewed very negatively once again.
5. Ted Wells
Much of my reasoning on Ted Well's placement in this article reflects my reasoning on Goodell's placement in this article.
Wells, a private investigator, was commissioned by the NFL to do a lengthy report on this issue.
His report indicated Tom Brady, one of the league's all-time greatest quarterbacks, cheated on the road to winning his latest Lombardi trophy.
That's a damning accusation against a widely regarded great.
If he's incorrect, heavy heat will be put on his shoulders, as he will share a lot of the blame for his false accusations.
