Deflategate Debate Update

At this point, the aftermath of the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts AFC Championship game seems to resemble a weekly popular teen drama television episode keeping everyone on their toes.

The Deflategate drama may need some explaining for people to understand the abundant media coverage that even marketing agencies have jumped onboard with, following allegations that the Patriots intentionally deflated footballs to improve their chance of winning the game.

During the game, D’Qwell Jackson intercepted the ball and noticed that something wasn’t quite right. According to Newsday reports shortly after the AFC Championship game, Jackson “took the ball to his team's equipment staff, which then informed head coach Chuck Pagano, who told general manager Ryan Grigson, who told NFL director of football operations Mike Kensil, who told the officials on the field.” And so the scandal began…

Tom Brady was almost entirely blamed and punished for the situation, receiving a 4-game suspension. Brady has denied any involvement in the deflation of the game balls for months. 

The latest news on the situation is that on Wednesday, August 12, Tom Brady and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and their teams of lawyers discussed the matter for several hours in a Manhattan courthouse. U.S. District Judge Richard Berman talked to Brady and Goodell separately both before and after the hearing that took place that day. 

Tom Brady said the hearing was “productive.” Although this hearing may seem like progress to some, a final settlement has yet to be reached.  According to USA Today it is likely that both parties will have to return to court for another settlement meeting, unless the parties can reach an agreement by August 19.

There is something people from the NFL, businesses, organizations or marketing agencies can learn from this scandal and its aftermath. Marketing specialist Kim Speier compares this situation to guidelines people follow in working in marketing agencies. She mentions that one person’s actions and reputation can poorly reflect on the entire industry and more.

Regardless of whether one works with marketing agencies or anywhere else, this scandal indicates the necessity for integrity in any business. This drama may be far from over all because of the events that took place during one single game… and we’ll all be anticipating the next update on the seemingly endless NFL scandal. 

Jordan Lee writes for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. She writes for many other clients as well.

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