A Massachusetts family decided to use Halloween as an opportunity to illustrate what the Deflategate fiasco really was: A witch hunt.
Reddit user “Billerica” grabbed a photo of the Halloween decor, which features a cardboard cutout of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell tied to a wooden stake above a pile of kindling. The New England Patriots banner in the background and air pump tied to Goodell are nice touches, too.
Goodell, of course, led the hunt against Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, whom the NFL believed cheated by taking part in a mass ball-deflating scandal to gain a competitive edge in last January’s AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts, whom the Pats play Sunday night. The nearly nine-month fiasco is widely regarded in New England as nothing more than a witch hunt.
Wayland is just about 35 miles away from Salem, Mass., which infamously is known as the site of the Salem Witch Trials. Dozens of innocent people were burned at the stake during the trials, based on a belief that they were practicing witchcraft.
Though Brady was exonerated in court by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman, it’s clear New Englanders still are feeling a bit burned by the ordeal.
h/t to SI’s Extra Mustard
