Since there are plenty of Colts fans in Fishers (& a few scattered Pats fans around town), allow me to join the crowd and give you my take on the entire DeflateGate so-called scandal and where it now stands.

I enjoy reading books about sports, particularly professional sports.  Many are behind-the- scenes stories of how the major sports leagues are run.  After reading about that, I am not surprised DeflateGate ended up that way it has.

Owners of professional sports teams are generally control freaks.  There is only one exception to that rule, and that’s the Green Bay Packers.  The Pack is owned by its fans.  (By the way, the remaining owners in all major American sports have enacted rules that prevent a Packers ownership model to be replicated)

Most owners made their fortune doing something else.  They then used that pile of cash to buy into sports.  Most have no idea how to run a sports franchise.  The best owners hire good people and let the professionals make the decisions.  But when it comes to business decisions, they nearly always want to take a hard line.

That is true in football.  The owners have tried their best to weaken the players union and have been effective in doing so in past years.  But once the players hired DeMaurice Smith to run the union, they got an attorney that knows how to think strategically and get the players what they want.

In the last collective bargaining talks, the players took more money in exchange for allowing NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to be a virtual monarch in deciding player discipline.  The players took their money, but Smith had an Ace card up his sleeve.  He knew Goodell would take a heavy-handed approach that could be challenged in court successfully.

Bob Ryan, a sportswriter that has covered Boston area sports for a very long time, has taken the view that the other owners firmly believe (rightly or wrongly) Pats owner Robert Kraft is very good at cheating.  Since the commissioner of any sport is just a tool for the owners, Goodell felt the heat from all the owners except Kraft to come down hard on the Patriots, not necessarily over the deflated footballs, but because those other owners have it in their heads that the Pats deserve a comeuppance for these alleged past transgressions.

Roger Goodell, the faithful servant of a majority of NFL owners, decided to use the authority given to him in the players contract and come down hard on Pats QB Tom Brady with a 4-game suspension.  Most legal “experts” expected the courts to side with the NFL due to the plain and strong language in the players collective bargaining agreement (CBA) allowing Goodell to discipline players.

Judge Richard Sherman shocked the sports world by removing Brady’s suspension, all 4 games.   The judge basically said in his ruling that Brady never got a fair hearing in the NFL’s process.

This happens to sports ownership in America all the time.  The owners take a tough, hard line, even when that may not be the smartest strategy.  When smart union leaders, like Don Fehr in baseball and Smith in the NFL, take on the owners, the players usually win as long as they stick together.

This Brady ruling is a big win for players’ rights in the NFL.  That’s why even Colts players understand that the Pats are big rivals on the field, but Brady’s win is a win for all players.  It will pave the way for player discipline to be meted out in a much more fair fashion.

Those same legal experts say the NFL has an excellent chance of winning an appeal, which was filed very quickly.  I suppose that’s always possible.  But I came to know a few judges in my reporter days and I know no jurist wants to have a decision overturned by a higher court.  Judge Berman must feel his ruling is on solid legal grounds.

This is not over yet.  I believe everyone looks bad in this situation so far.  The NFL loses for obvious reasons, weakening the commissioner’s standing as judge, jury and executioner in player discipline.  But Tom Brady’s legacy has been tarnished.  He refused to turn over his cell phone to league investigators.  That was not an unreasonable request by an employer in a conduct probe.  I know Brady didn’t want to set that precedent, but most fans will assume the cell phone had incriminating evidence on it, but we will never know the facts due to Brady’s stance.

All this just solidifies my decision to drastically cut down on the amount of time I watch NFL games this season.  The league and its owners are too wealthy and have too much power for me to enjoy watching the game being sold to us.  I still love high school and college football, but the pro game is taking a back seat for me this season.