DeflateGate: the controversy has gripped us all. But now that it is over (or maybe not, as the NFL can’t seem to accept defeat), we need to reflect.

DeflateGate has been the topic of debate amongst my friends and me since the news broke late last school year. We all have different opinions. Mine is that Tom Brady knew about the balls being deflated. Brady, with the help of Coach Bill Belichick, lead the organization onto the field, and they knew everything. Even the owner, Robert Kraft, probably knew. There is no way they didn’t know about this.

It all started in the AFC Championship game, when Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts visited Brady and the New England Patriots. During the first half of the game, Colts Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson intercepted Brady’s pass. He wanted to keep the ball as a souvenir, so he gave it to the Colts’ equipment staff to hold. Someone on that staff noticed the ball seemed to be underinflated and notified officials, who tested all of the Patriots’ game balls and found some of the balls to be underinflated. Nothing was made of it during the game, however, and the Patriots won, 45-7.

The day after the game, the NFL announced 11 of the Patriots’ 12 game balls were underinflated. Both Belichick and Brady denied any knowledge of tampering with the balls.

To help identify the problem, the NFL hired an outside investigator, Ted Wells, to lead the investigation. Here lies my first problem. Although he may not have been directly involved in the event, the league chose him and brought him in, which means he is getting paid by the league. This means he was more likely to rule in the league’s favor so he can keep them happy and make money. Prior to DeflateGate, Wells reported on a 2013 bullying scandal with the Miami Dolphins, in which he ruled in the league’s favor. The league was basically paying him to rule in their favor, again.

Wells’s final, 243 page report claimed Brady was “generally aware” about the deflation of footballs. This is my second problem. Brady is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. If his reputation is going to be tarnished, then the facts better line up. I need a definitive statement saying he did it.

After the report came out, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Brady for the first four games of the season, fined the Patriots $1 million, and docked the team a first and fourth round draft pick. Here comes another problem. Just to point out, there were no parts of this investigation that went well. Later, the NFL reduced domestic abuser Greg Hardy’s suspension from 10 games to 4, same as Brady’s. The NFL is saying an alleged cheater should have the same suspension as someone who beat up his loved one. That’s just not right. We know the NFL has a domestic abuse problem, but that’s for another column.

Brady and the Patriots, not happy with the punishment, filed an appeal against the league. Goodell, whom everybody hates because of his disciplinary actions for Ray Rice, appointed himself as arbitrator for the appeal. This was a big deal because the ruling was then more likely to go in the league’s favor. The NFLPA requested an outside arbitrator, but the league declined it. Brady testified for 10 hours at the appeal, but was unsuccessful.

Brady decided to fight the decision even more and took the league to federal court, held by Judge Richard Berman. The judge questioned whether the Wells report was truly independent, exactly my argument, and scheduled another hearing.

Judge Berman eventually overturned the suspension, seeing as the NFL in his view did not have enough hard evidence in the end, and Brady was eligible to return week one against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In the end, I believe the correct outcome was reached. The whole thing was blown out of proportion. Although Brady probably knew about it, the way it all went down, I’m glad the suspension was overturned. Looking ahead, league owners need to look at Goodell’s disciplinary role. He gets punishments for wrong the time over and over again. If players truly want to beat the NFL when they believe they have a real chance, they should take them to real court and have a judge do his duty without the persuasion of the league.