Integrity in Sports
by Judith Bowman on 01/31/15
The New England
Patriots have been so unusually good for so long that it seems fans are bored
and the competition is jealous! What
happened to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty? Behavior as of late, is reminiscent of the
Salem witch trials… And it seems the
vulturous press would rather sell gossip and
exploit minutia than focus on ‘just another Superbowl’ … adding the suffix “gate” – implying scandal
or at least, underhandedness (no pun intended) has been a nice touch! All this is not very golden rule type
behavior, something upon which even sports etiquette is based. Moreover, the upshot of this debacle
threatens to cut at the core of fundamental qualities of integrity and trust - upon
which personal, business and sports relationships should be based. Tom Brady has denied any knowledge of
impropriety and I believe him.
… even
if air pressure was altered, this clearly did not affect Brady’s performance as
Patriots scored 28 points during the second half with a fully inflated ball
(which was also heavier because it was drenched) versus 17 points with a less inflated ball. Velocity is also reduced with an under-inflated
(heavy, wet) ball … so much for the integrity of the ball …
Brady’s
integrity:
The New England
Patriots are a true Dynasty Team. Tom
Brady could be The best quarterback of all time and Bill Belichek one of the
best coaches. Tom Brady and The New
England Patriots are professional, world-class athletes who have earned titles
and trophies not by individual accomplishment, but by shared achievement. They have played and won consistently, as
true Gentlemen Warriors. Individually
and collectively, they have demonstrated that treating others with respect is
contagious and key to winning.
Tom Brady is a
star athlete and a leader who works for his wins, studies and prepares. His confidence and sense of authority come
from exhaustive preparation. He is known
to watch every frame of every defensive play of the season at least once and
memorize every twitch and tic of every cornerback and safety. He gets briefed and briefs himself on
strengths and weaknesses of his opponents including their habits, tendencies
and vulnerabilities. Teammates admire
his presence and personality, his work ethic, selflessness, humility and show
of respect toward everyone.
Let not hearsay,
innuendo and viscous rumors tarnish the hard-fought, well-earned reputation of
one of the greatest quarterbacks in history.
