Grey Ruegamer: DeflateGate Punishment, Like Violation, Should Be Minor

No one is arguing that the New England Patriots shouldn’t be punished if the NFL finds they intentionally under-inflated footballs during their AFC Championship Game win over the Indianapolis Colts.

But should the Patriots lose their spot in Super Bowl XLIX or should coach Bill Belichick be harshly punished or even fired like some members of the media believe? Former NFL center Grey Ruegamer thinks not.

In his column on FootballByFootball.com Thursday, Ruegamer said those punishments don’t nearly match the crime.

“If the quarterback wants to throw a beach ball or a shot put, so what?” Ruegamer writes. “If the NFL was so worried about competitive advantage, why would they let teams use footballs all week for the game and only then provide brand new kicking balls pregame?”

In fact, Ruegamer points out that there are plenty of legal methods that provide the same level of competitive advantage as an under-inflated football.

“The talking heads are trying to manufacture that it’s some significant competitive advantage to have a slightly deflated football,” Ruegamer writes. “If that were the case then they should ban every conceivable ‘competitive advantage,’ like receivers’ gloves, taped ankles and strength and conditioning coaches.

“Odell Beckham likely doesn’t make that amazing catch without gloves. Jerome Bettis may have fumbled a lot more in his stellar career without those big neoprene sleeves on his arms to hold the ball in place. DeMarco Murray may not have played as well without piles of ankle tape help him make sharp cuts. And J.J. Watt may not have been the defensive machine he was because of his offseason training. All, at the end of the day, provide some form of competitive advantage depending on the quality and application of use.”