Deflate-gate: Taking the Air out of Sports

Photo credit: frankieleon on Creative Commons

Deflate-gate. Ball-ghazi. Psi-gate. A controversy known by many names has encompassed the attention of many people. But has it gone on for too long?

Last week, according to a report from Chris Mortensen of ESPN, the NFL found that 11 of the 12 footballs the Patriots were using were under-inflated by two pounds each. The NFL regulates that balls must be inflated between 12.5 and 13.5 PSI (pounds per square inch).

The Patriots have taken a hit to their character not only from the media, but from NFL followers as well. Television shows, websites, even mascots have even provided their views on this recent controversy. A vine from the twitter of an individual named Andrew’s Head shows how the public is willing to poke fun at the scandal of “deflate-gate.”

Deflate-gate is even being addressed by figures such as Sports Science and Bill Nye The Science Guy.

Regardless of all the attention that “deflate-gate” has garnered, there are some who judge that the story is being overblown. FSC Director of Athletics and Dean of Wellness Pete Meyer deemed that the extended coverage is “a waste of time” and that the media should stop talking about it.

“I don’t see it as any major news other than that it was significant and it was at the biggest point of the year, in a big game,” Meyer said. “If it was week two with the Chiefs playing Oakland, does anybody care? No. it was the Patriots. The evil empire. That’s what it comes down to. It’s Pretty Boy Tom Brady.”

Florida Southern pitcher Ben Richardson believes that tampering with balls is happening not only in football but other sports as well. Although, he also believes that tampering doesn’t occur as much in baseball because of the steps taken by the MLB to ensure fair play.

“Personally, I do not like using any kind of substance with the balls but I do understand that it is and has been a part of the game for a long time,” Richardson said. “It is hard to throw with a ball that may be illegal for long because the umpires are constantly changing out balls throughout the game. If the league (NFL) can take more control through different measures before and during the game, I believe they can stop or decrease the use of illegal equipment.”

Following the deflate-gate investigation, Meyer thinks that officials will be more vigilant over the care of balls not only in football, but other sports like basketball and baseball as well.

But where does the vigilance stem from? Meyer believes that the media has propagated this watchfulness because of the level of scrutiny that the media has afforded towards the “deflate-gate” story. He believes that the media is only interested in investigative journalism that seeks to look for the bad and not the good, which often makes a “story out of nothing.”

“Why do we have to add gate on the back of every controversy,” Meyer asked. “Because of Watergate. The average person doesn’t know what that was. But they add gate to the end of it. I don’t get that. It’s not that big of a deal. But they’ve made it that big of a deal because Watergate was that big of a deal.”

FSC Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications Ben Greenberg also agreed with Meyer on the role of the media. He believes it’s the media’s job to judge teams in the court of public opinion.

“As the media has evolved over the years, they’re fighting to stay relevant,” Greenberg said. “They’re going to play more of a role but more so now than ever it’s a 24 hour news cycle. It’s on Twitter, it’s on Facebook, it’s on social media. It’s out there. So they want to get it out there. Whether it’s true or not true, they’re obligated to follow everything.”

Another important subject for Meyer was the hypocrisy of the NFL. He believes that the investigations and potential suspensions aren’t weighed equally to something which might be seen as a worse offense.

Back in May 2014 Chris Mortensen reported that the Ravens accepted that Ray Rice would be possibly “miss some time” because he was indicted for aggravated assault. In July 2014, the NFL announced that it was going to punish Ray Rice by suspending him for only two games (a little over a month later he was suspended indefinitely).

Meyer thinks that the NFL and other organizations need to re-evaluate their punishment process. He believes that they need to provide a level of consistency to whatever punishment they assign to those who cheat or are involved in potentially lawless behavior.

“At some point, society has to change,” Meyer said. “The organization has to change and there has to be an organization that steps up and says, we’re not going to act like animals. There both majorly important. The most important thing is Ray Rice. Ray Rice is just the example that was caught.”

Greenberg thinks that in order to end the story of “deflate-gate”, the NFL needs to suspend Patriots head coach Bill Belichick for the Super Bowl. But because of the potential impact of this action Greenberg, like Richard Sherman, doubts anything will happen.

“But that (suspending Belichick) would send the right message to people,” Greenberg said. “But since that’s not what they’re going to do, the message is going to be that it’s ok to do it because we’re going to take away a draft pick, or we’re going to fine you or fire some flunkie in the equipment room. Ultimately, in those positions it’s some lackey that takes the responsibility.

The “deflate-gate” investigation conducted by NFL executive vice president Jeff Pash and criminal attorney Ted Wells is ongoing. On Monday, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported that the NFL has interviewed a locker room attendant who remains “a strong person of interest” in this controversy.

Although the media’s intent was noble, the effects of the coverage toward “deflate-gate” may have taken the air out of not only the Super Bowl, but those wanting to see a sports landscape with properly covered stories and no hypocrisy.

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