Jonathan Kraft says Patriots won’t fight team punishment
The fallout continues after U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Berman vacated Tom Brady’s four-game suspension. Most in the sporting world were eager to share their opinion, but New England Patriots players were not. And while Brady won in court, the Patriots organization appears reluctant to fight the team punishment for the Deflategate scandal.
The Patriots will not fight their Deflategate punishment, Jonathan Kraft says: “ ‘Robert was very much, and we all believed, it’s not just Robert, that that would help Tom,’ Jonathan Kraft said. ‘I think you all heard how strongly we felt about it and a public apology to the fans for what had gone on. Robert’s a man of his word and we’re part of a partnership. I would never say never to anything, but as we sit here today, it’s not our intention (to fight the league on the team penalties).’ ’’ (Boston Herald)
Patriots players stay quiet about the ruling: “If we’re talking about quarterbacks, I’d rather talk about Ryan Lindley,’’ offensive lineman Ryan Wendell said. “He was the guy that was out there playing today, he was the guy that gave us a shot to win the game and did a great job leading our offense after only being here not even half the camp. That’s the quarterback you want to talk about tonight.’’ (CSNNE.com)
Opinion: Deflategate exposed Roger Goodell as unfit to serve his office: “Judge Richard M. Berman turned Roger Goodell’s desk over and spilled its embarrassingly sparse contents onto the floor. Goodell’s imperious conduct, faulty reasoning and vanity-driven clutching at authority in the Tom Brady case were all exposed in a 40-page decision of measured legal language. Lesson to first-year law students: Collective bargaining agreements don’t give an NFL commissioner the right to act like a petty prince.’’ (Washington Post)
Giants kicker trolls the Patriots and NFL in one Tweet:
[fragment number=0]
Believe it or not, the Patriots actually played some football last night: “ The Patriots left the offense in the hands of third-stringer Ryan Lindley, who completed 22 of 45 for 253 yards with one interception and a late fumble. Giants backup quarterback Ryan Nassib played all but the final few minutes for New York and was 16 for 32 for 193 yards and no interceptions. The battle of the reserves ended up being decided by New York’s backup kicker, just re-signed the day before. Boswell was waived on Aug. 16 but resigned Wednesday with veteran kicker Josh Brown still nursing a bruised leg from making a tackle.’’ (Associated Press)
Photo Finish: Timeline of Deflategate Controversy
[bdc-gallery id=”106353″]
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com