My $.02 on #TB12

I know you’ve all been wondering.

What does Michelle think of the Tom Brady situation?

After all, you haven’t heard enough from every Tom, Dick, and Harry. (Well, maybe not every Tom.)

Indulge me.

First of all, did he break the rules? I don’t know, and I don’t really care. Not in this particular situation. And I don’t think you should either. You might say there are rules and there is a game at stake. But let me ask you this: How many of you drive 70 in a 55 mph zone? Aren’t there laws and aren’t there lives at stake? I suspect one or two PSIs have about the same impact on a game as 15 mph have on lives. We all break the rules.

And the Wells report. I have not read it in detail, and I’m not going to. “More probable than not” was enough to turn me off.  I think everyone is owed a more definitive statement than that. If you can’t say for sure, then don’t say it.

And Goodell claiming he is protecting the integrity of the game. That one kind of disgusted me. Aren’t there several far more important instances that he could have (should have) picked to protect the integrity of the game?

I also don’t like it when we turn our athletes into either heroes or villains.  As far as I’m concerned, Charles Barkley had it right when he said “I am not a role model. … I am not paid to be a role model. Just because I can dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.”

Yes, every athlete (as well as all of us)  should be a good person.

That doesn’t mean they have to be perfect.

And it doesn’t mean we should vilify them when they are not perfect, either on the field or off. We really shouldn’t vilify anyone, and I see that all too often.

Everyone has their very well-informed opinion of Tom Brady as a result of this situation. Here is mine:

1. Tom is incredibly talented, competitive, hard working, and, most likely, demanding.
2. Tom is a good person, though, most likely, not perfect.
3. Tom is innocent until proven guilty, and I’m not convinced he has been proven guilty. “More probable than not” is not enough for me.
4. Even if proven guilty, Tom is still an incredibly talented, competitive, hard working, and demanding good person. So I will continue watching him and rooting for him.

Now, I’m going to go watch and enjoy this DVD (since the Red Sox are a bunch of bums right now):