[nolemmings]

What do you think about not using the existing rule and penalty? It seems to me that without the public outcry, it would have been the required 25K fine, maybe for each ball and that would be the end of it. (Probably another example of the laymans understanding of legal stuff being incomplete at best - I hear fairly often that someones prior record can't be used. Maybe at sentencing it can but not earlier? )

Steve you raise some good points. I believe part of the issue here was not just the footballs from the game in question, but that upon investigation it seems this activity had been going on for awhile or at least on previous occasions. This made the league concerned about a team trying to gain an unfair competitive edge--cheating-- on possibly a regular and systematic basis, which could be perceived as affecting the integrity of the game. Brady's response and manner of handling the matter was seen as evasive or maybe obstructionist, which took this thing way beyond just an equipment violation. And yes, the Patriots' history was quite possibly a factor. Prior bad acts generally are not admissible when determining whether someone is guilty/liable of a new charge, but there can be exceptions--although as noted, this being a labor dispute, civil or criminal court rules do not necessarily translate and apply.

I think I'm going to take a break from this whole thing for awhile-- I doubt many or maybe any have changed their positions since this story first broke and I really have no strong preference as to the outcome.