Folks, I've reached the breaking point as a Patriots fan and I can go no further.
I am tired of making excuses for the most despicable franchise in the league, for their foul-mouthed quarterback, and, most importantly, for the most diabolical supervillain of a head coach the league has ever seen.
I'm not sure if you've heard of this story before, but your New England Patriots were found to have intentionally deflated all of their footballs against the Colts and possible for the entirety of Tom Brady's career- and who knows, maybe this dates back to head coach's Bill Belichick's tensure with the Browns, or the Giants; maybe he has brought shame upon every franchise he's been a part of in his career. I can't prove this, there are no facts, and any rebuttal will fall on deaf ears, but I'm just putting these questions out there because the public has been fooled for too long.
The whole Patriots franchise came under fire after Belichick cheated his way past the Ravens and the Colts in the playoffs (and, again, maybe his whole career, but I'm just putting it out there, I'm not trying to make any claims). We've seen former members of the Patriots family go on to their cheating ways this off-season, too.
The Falcons, with former New England front office persons Tom Dimitroff and Scott Pioli, are under fire for having pumped excessive crowd noise into their stadium.
The Browns, Belichick's former franchise, were found to have been sending illegal text messages to the sideline during games. The culprit? General manager Ray Farmer, a former Pioli understudy and, by extension, the fault of Belichick.
The Browns are also under fire because their not-yet-hired-but-definitely-has-the-job quarterback coach Kevin O'Connell is personally training presumed top overall draft choice Marcus Mariota prior to the draft. Why does O'Connell sound familiar? He was a former Patriots 3rd round pick. As for Mariota, he is from Hawaii- you know where Belichick last coached the Pro Bowl? You got it, in Hawaii.
So Belichick's deep-rooted cheating has stolen its way into franchises around the country, and no one is talking about it.
Especially not David Letterman.
After probably cheating his way to another Super Bowl victory (there's no way Belichick didn't force his way into Pete Carroll's head on that final interception. Very shady, if you ask me), Belichick's latest stop on his victory lap was to The Late Show with David Letterman, and the host left every fan deflated with his lack of interrogation.
Everyone knows that Letterman is promoted as the last bastion of journalistic integrity on television, especially with Stephen Colbert heading in a new direction, and the fact that I can't name anyone on Saturday Night Live other than Keenan Thompson.
The media has brushed over this whole deflated football scandal with nary a comment to Belichick; he was able to waltz from the Colts game into the Super Bowl without having to address the hard hitting questions like:
Did you do it?
What do you say to your critics?
There are a lot people who are questioning your integrity, saying you will win at all costs. (not technically a question, but still)
What do you say to critics who are challenging your character, which seems to go well beyond the sport of football?
Any message to the fans who are watching all of this and are upset by this?
Do you see any circumstances under which 11 of 12 footballs could have accidentally deflated?
This sort of scandal deserves outrage and the truth, but more importantly it deserves outrage.
So when Belichick sat with Letterman, we were all hoping for some truth, finally, from a coach that has made most of his statements with his mind, instead of with his heart.
We didn't get to see that on Letterman. Instead, we saw something much worse. We saw the downfall of journalism as Letterman tossed softball after softball, trying to draw laughs out of the crowd instead of drawing the facts that Belichick cheated.
WEEI's Patriots writer Jerry Thornton couldn't help but rave about Belichick's comedic timing; this moment that should have been reserved for excoriating Belichick's cheating past was instead used as a moment to celebrate his recent achievements.
As Pro Football Talk put it, "[Dave Letterman] had the perfect opening to push the issue early in the interview, when Belichick said of the victory over Letterman’s favorite team, the Colts, 'Well, it was only a 38-point win.'
"Letterman could have said bitingly in response (as he’s done with countless guests over the years), 'Well, you also used deflated footballs.'"
That zinger would have truly put the head coach in his place, and likely forced some sort of confession the end this whole scandal once and for all.
Instead, as Florio puts it, all we saw "was part of the broader 'this is all a load of crap' narrative that Letterman opted to push."
And it's true. This whole narrative that Belichick is anything but the blackheart villain of the NFL is a "load of crap" and Letterman owes it to the world to change how everyone views the coach. Any other narrative being pushed at this point in time deserves to take a backseat so the narrative of Bill the Cheating Cheat can remain on the foreground.
Letterman missed his chance to save journalism and, in doing so, devalued the importance that late night talk show hosts hold for society.
Florio lays out the concerns better than I ever could:
[Letterman's] efforts, however, weren't focused at all on advancing the ball, moving the needle, or getting to the truth, with sarcasm or wit driving the bus. Letterman operated under the premise that the entire situation is a joke, that nothing improper happened, and that if it did it doesn't matter because even though the difference between a properly inflated ball and a deflated ball is "palpable," using deflated footballs "wouldn't make any difference in a game."
The NFL sees it differently. Whether it made a difference or not, proof that anyone from the Patriots tampered with the footballs could result in significant punishment. Letterman's failure to understand that, or his conscious decision to disregard it, squandered a prime opportunity to get something fresh, tangible, and/or informative out of Belichick.
What good is Letterman, if not for prying the truth out of his guests? How can Letterman continue with his career, knowing full well that he let the biggest fish of his career slip through his hands?
The true lack of "biting zingers", except for when he lobbed in a couple, shows the complacency of the media that has been the main storyline in this deflated football ordeal.
No one is willing to attack for this cause. No one is willing to force the narrative that Belichick is the absolute worst person ever. Everyone is holding their punches and it's hurting the integrity of journalism. Letterman is now just the latest victim of Belichick's ability to slither away from the tough questions.
I can't take it anymore; is there anyone willing to talk about this issue?