After the NFL doled out a four-game suspension for Patriots QB Tom Brady due to the findings of the league's Deflategate investigation, he "is the one taking the fall" for the team's transgressions, according to a front-page piece by Ben Volin of the BOSTON GLOBE. Volin: "It’s his Wikipedia page that now forever will have a mention of cheating and suspension. He’s the one who has been branded a cheater in the eyes of Patriots haters across the country, even if he didn’t have a direct hand in deflating the footballs" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/12). But San Diego State Univ. marketing professor Andrew Baker said, "I have a hard time imagining that this has any real material consequence on his viability as an endorser. I don't see any sponsors saying they have to back away" (L.A. TIMES, 5/12). THE MMQB's Peter King wrote, "The biggest loser in the case was not [team Owner Robert] Kraft, or his Patriots. It was Brady. Forever more, he’ll have to live, fairly or unfairly, with having been called a cheater by the NFL office." Brady’s legacy, "at least in part, depends on the success" of his appeal to the suspension (MMQB.SI.com, 5/11).
TEFLON'S GONE: In N.Y., Bill Pennington writes, "Brady’s reputation is sullied by a humiliating punishment just over three months after he was named most valuable player of the Super Bowl" (
N.Y. TIMES, 5/12). Former NFLer Joe Theismann said of Brady, "From a world-wide public perception, he's going to be called a cheater. It hurts his reputation a lot" (
USA TODAY, 5/12). In N.Y., Mike Lupica writes, "Even if Brady wins in arbitration, one of the biggest winners in the history of his sport has already lost big" (
N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/12). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Darin Gantt: "There will be an immediate impact for the team, but the greater harm may come to Brady’s reputation, which was previously simply that he was one of the best players in the history of the game" (
PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 5/11).
