Cheaters never win. It’s an old adage taught to youngsters at an early age. Whether for sports, board games or a round of hide-and-seek, our children are taught as toddlers that, in the end, dishonesty doesn’t pay. Then again, children are also taught to believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and fairy-tale endings. We try to teach them morals to shield them from the cold-hearted realities that cheaters and phonies often do thrive in the good ol’ U.S. of A.
Just look at suspected (with a capital S) cheaters Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Neither has been admitted into the Hall of Fame, but both allegedly juiced their way to numerous championships, awards, fame and riches. Even admitted cheaters such as Alex Rodriguez and Lance Armstrong would probably Whip and Nae Nae all over the rules once again considering the obscene amount of money they made by popping PEDs.
This brings us to New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. The NFL’s golden child recently had his four-game suspension, for his role in deflating footballs, upheld by Commissioner Roger Goodell. For months, Brady’s and his camp have threatened to take the battle to federal court if Goodell didn’t reduce or eliminate Brady’s suspension. Brady claimed he had no idea the team’s ball boys were illegally deflating footballs. According to recent reports, Brady also wants us to believe that it was a mere coincidence that his cell phone was destroyed on the same day he met with investigators regarding ‘DeflateGate.’ He then conveniently forgot to mention that he even changed cell phones until after text messages could no longer be retrieved by a wireless provider.
Brady continues to follow the Armstrong playbook of denials, threats and possible lawsuits. In reality, Brady probably wants to go to federal court about as much as Pinocchio yearns for a trip to the saw mill. In federal court, Brady would likely have to face questions regarding DeflateGate, SpyGate and more. Brady might be cool under pressure with 300-pound men bearing down on him, but can his brow stay sweat-free under oath about his team’s legacy of cheating to get ahead? Who knows what embarrassing facts would come out of a trial? Even worse, what facts would come up after trial that could implicate Brady in a perjury charge should he choose to deflate the truth?
Goodell and the league have been routinely embarrassed for disciplinary blunders over the past few years. Having the reigning Super Bowl champion quarterback start the season on the suspension list is yet another embarrassment to the league (thanks Pete Carroll). That makes it a little surprising that he chose to stand firm on Brady’s suspension. Then again, Goodell’s power is likely dwindling by the blunder and he needs to appear strong. He likely has enough ammo to drag Brady’s golden image through the mud in a trial and is essentially calling Brady’s bluff. If Brady is smart, he’ll sit down, shut up and pray that the skeletons in his closet stay there forever. Sports scandals won’t take away his riches, supermodel wife or Super Bowl rings but they could signify the nail in the coffin for his legacy. Just ask his cheating contemporaries.
A present for Pascal
You can’t talk about cheating in sports without speaking about the sweet science. Boxing and cheating go together better than peanut butter and jelly. From the mob involvement in the ‘50s, to the gold medal robbery of Roy Jones Jr. at the ’88 Olympics, to the plastic-packed gloves of Antonio Margarito, corruption in boxing runs deep.
So it is certainly no surprise that whenever there is an unpopular decision, boxing fans scream bloody murder. Such was the case this weekend when Jean Pascal received a gift decision versus unknown fighter Yuniesky Gonzalez. Though I scored the fight 97-93 (seven rounds to three) for Gonzalez, I choose to categorize the fight as a gift instead of a blatant robbery. The two closed-quarters combatants exchanged plenty of heavy leather throughout the 10-round fight. Gonzalez was the aggressor and his powerful punches seemingly had more effect, but Pascal was certainly no slouch. He eventually began timing Gonzalez and landing counter punch bombs of his own. Gonzalez just walked through the shots and happens to be more coordinated than his naturally herky, jerky and wobbly conqueror.
The common narrative is that Pascal was given the decision in order to set up a rematch with Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev, who stopped Pascal in an exciting fight back in March. I wouldn’t put this past the powers that be in boxing, but I believe the controversial decision was more likely due to lazy judges who give the bigger name fighter the benefit of doubt during close rounds. I have the greatest respect for Doug Fisher, of RingTV.com, and he scored the bout a draw. If a draw is acceptable, so is a one-round difference. I almost think it would’ve been more appropriate if the fight had been scored a draw because I’d rather see Pascal and Gonzalez fight again before I’d recommend either of them go anywhere near Kovalev.
Kovalev proved once again that he’s a monster, by destroying Nadjib Mohammedi in three rounds. The only names I’d like to see on Kovalev’s dance card are Adonis Stevenson or Andre Ward. Everybody else can kick rocks.
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