Teflon Tom
Breaking: Shockingly Attractive Rich White Superstar Quarterback Finally Gets a Break. Yes, a judge ruled against the NFL and has overturned the four game suspension Tom Brady faced because of his role in the New England Patriots’ ball deflating scandal. While this story has been inflated well beyond its actual importance, what’s actually interesting here is that the ruling had nothing to do with whether or not Brady actually did what the NFL accused him of doing. Instead, Judge Richard M. Berman ruled on whether or not the NFL had the power to issue the suspension. In ruling that it didn’t, the judge provided a rare check on the growing power of America’s most powerful league. The NFL can and will appeal; a reality that is enough to give anyone a concussion. (During Week 1 of the season, Brady should run out on the field with a ball that’s as flat as a pancake.)
+ The New Yorker’s Ian Crouch: “Now, as the regular season begins, it’s Goodell who has become Deflategate’s new, unwilling star.”