Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas calls the NFL’s Deflategate saga a “sting operation” that marks the latest in a series of “outrageous, ridiculous witch hunts” conducted by league Commissioner Roger Goodell.
“I would equate what he did to driving 66 in a 65 speed zone,” Thomas said of Brady, “and getting the death penalty.”
Thomas calls the air-pressure limits “arbitrary,” noting that the NFL allows quarterbacks to break in balls.
“I think he’s trying to do everything he can to gain a competitive advantage to help him do his job better, which is to throw the football,” Thomas explained of Brady. “Why should we be punishing a guy that wants to do his job better?”
The third pick in the 2007 draft, who has started every game during his eight-year NFL career just as he has been named to the Pro Bowl for each of his eight seasons, remains an outspoken critic of the league. He compares Roger Goodell to Vince McMahon and the NFL to the WWE. But he thinks the offseason sideshows perversely help the bottom line.
“It’s an entertainment business,” Thomas says. “It’s turning into the WWE really. It’s like the Vince McMahon stuff. Basically, Goodell is like Vince McMahon.”