On Tuesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell dropped a bombshell announced that the NFL had denied New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's appeal for his 4-game suspension for his role in "Deflate-Gate". It was also revealed by, of all people, Stephen A. Smith that Brady had destroyed his cell phone when the NFL had asked to see it weeks earlier. They were looking for the alleged texts that Brady sent to the Patriots ballboy. Brady's excuse? He always destroys his old phone when he gets a new one so no one can see his information. That alone is suspicious but then Judy Battista of NFL.com tweeted "One detail: Brady said he regularly destroyed his phones. Ruling notes the one used before the relevant one was not destroyed. All of this information didn't have to be leaked if Brady had accepted the blame and taken the 1-2 game suspension.
Now Brady and the NFLPA are likely to file a lawsuit and take it to a federal court. However, this is a bad move for both sides. For Brady, he will be causing the Patriots an unnecessary distraction as they try to defend their Super Bowl championship. The NFL and NFLPA will enter into a de facto "Civil War" over the appeal in a Federal court. A scandal that has dragged on for far too long will be prolonged even more which makes every NFL fan groan. Brady has little to no chance of winning in court even if he is innocent because that cell phone issue is too damning. As the saying goes, "The cover-up is always worse than the crime."
There's a simple resolution to all of this. Brady accepts the 4-game suspension and does not appeal but he still maintains his innocence. That way Brady's big head can stay in check and he never admits he was guilty. He can just say, "I love my team far too much to drag this on any further and risk distracting them for the start of the season. I am maintaining my innocence but I just do not want the distraction." All of a sudden, Brady looks like a martyr and everyone praises him for being a team player. The NFL benefits since they do not have to go to court. The Patriots win because they can finally move on and have Brady, likely the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL, to mentor Jimmy Garoppolo and prepare him for the season so the Patriots are not in an 0-4 hole once Brady returns in Week 6.
Will this happen? Absolutely not. Brady and the NFLPA will appeal and take this to federal court. This might not get resolved until after the season. Tom Brady is too arrogant to accept the suspension. And every football fan has to endure "Deflate-Gate" some more.