Jason Kelce expressed his strong views on the issue of deflating footballs, arguing that Tom Brady should not have faced punishment for the infamous ‘DeflateGate’ incident.
During a recent episode of his ‘New Heights’ podcast with his brother Travis Kelce, the duo discussed the topic of cheating and gaining an advantage in football.
Jason acknowledged that there is an acceptable level of rule-bending and then launched into an impassioned tirade about DeflateGate. “I don’t think Tom [Brady] should’ve been penalized for deflating footballs. I’m all for it, to be honest. I’ll say it again: I support deflating footballs,” he asserted.
Former Eagles center Jason Kelce believes Tom Brady was unfairly punished in the DeflateGate scandal.
Brady was suspended for his involvement in the 2015 AFC Championship game.
“He outsmarted them, so who cares how much air was in that thing? If you’re throwing and catching it, who cares? We’re upset because he had the sense to let some air out so his receivers could catch the thing. Why is that against the rules?” Kelce continued.
He further argued, “You could’ve deflated the balls, too. You just weren’t smart enough. Why am I being punished because you’re a dummy? It’s a dumb rule. If a rule doesn’t protect player health or if only one team can do it, I get it. But if both teams have the chance to do something and the other team isn’t as smart, it’s a dumb rule. You’re penalizing intelligence.”
Brady was accused of deflating footballs during the 2015 AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts, which the New England Patriots won convincingly. However, he was found to have played a role in deflating footballs below the required pressure for the game, which experienced rapid weather changes.
As a result, Brady was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season. Upon his return, he led the Patriots to a Super Bowl LI victory.
