Public opinion clear: Brady is a cheater

DETROIT – The only thing more embarrassing than Bill Belichick's impromptu press conference Saturday proclaiming his New England Patriots did nothing wrong was Tom Brady's public denial.

Belichick's claim that physics are to blame for Deflate-gate was so laughable that even Bill Nye chimed in.

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"What [Belichick] said didn't make any sense," said the Science Guy.

Brady also failed to make sense in his 30-minute press conference on Thursday.

Somehow, the former Michigan QB claimed he had no knowledge that footballs he threw were deflated in violation of NFL rules.

Brady is no better than Barry Bonds. Or Roger Clemens. Or Mark McGwire. Or Sammy Sosa. That's according to the current standards set my most media and fans.

It doesn't matter if you actually have proof. It's simply about whether you believe what the person is telling you.

The NFL, according to media reports, found 11 of 12 of the game balls the New England Patriots provided in the AFC Championship against the Indianapolis Colts were under-inflated by two pounds of air per-square-inch (PSI).

At the press conference, Brady was asked point blank by a reporter if he was a cheater.

"I don't believe so and always believe I've played within the rules," Brady answered. 

He thinks so? He should have said absolutely not.

Although a "Today Show" poll said that 77 percent of the viewers that voted said they didn't believe Brady, many fans will come to his defense.

Pats die-hards will object to attempts to connect Bonds and Brady as an apples-to-oranges comparison.

Other defenders will argue Deflate-gate was no big deal. It's only air pressure and the Colts wouldn't have won anyway. After all, they lost 45-7.

Fans can't have it both ways. If you steal $10 out of your grandmother's purse or a million dollars in a bank heist, either way, you're a thief.

Same thing here. Either you follow the rules or you break them—and cheat.

There's no other way to look at it. If Brady had ball boys deflate the balls to his liking, he cheated.

Many don't want to hear it, believe it or let it taint Brady's career but Tom Brady is a cheater.

Sure, he's a Hall of Famer quarterback going to his sixth Super Bowl, having won three, but those things shouldn't matter. They shouldn't protect a player when he was caught doing something against the rules.

And the history of this franchise doesn't help. In the Spy-gate scandal, New England was caught videotaping the Jets' coaches defensive signals. Belichick was personally fined $500,000, the team was fined $250,000 and lost a draft pick.

In Brady's case, he should get the same treatment as MLB players caught in the Steroid Scandal.

But many of the accused ballplayers never failed league-issued drug test and were branded just because of what people believed.

In Spy-gate, knowing the defensive signals would have helped Brady run the offense. In Deflate-gate, throwing a ball with less pressure would have helped Brady as well.

The point is simple. You can't simply throw out these scandals because you like a guy.

There are now two clear cheating incidents that involve Brady and the Patriots. The deflated footballs directly implicate Brady.

And while some baseball writers want to be judge and jury when it comes to keeping Bonds and company out of the Hall of Fame their decision is based on suspicion, not facts.

These are facts: Bonds, the all-time home runs leader never tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Why? Because they didn't test before 2006.

McGwire didn't test positive, just like Bonds.

Sosa also didn't test positive, just like Bonds and McGwire.

Clemens also never tested positive.

It's a slippery slope, but if public opinion matters more than proof, then sports fans need to be consistent. If Bonds, Clemens, etc. are branded as cheaters, so should Brady.