Seattle Seahawks Are Cheaters Too
By Connor Fulton
@ConnorFultonRS
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
All the evidence points toward the New England Patriots bending the rules a bit in the AFC Championship. Yes, those balls were significantly deflated, and yes, it gave the Patriots a competitive advantage. But let’s stop with the “ban the Patriots from the Super Bowl” and other insane narratives.
The fact of the matter is that the NFL is a corrupt league. Cheating, corner-cutting and shady behavior is rampant in the NFL. No level of the league, be it players or teams or administration, is perfectly golden. That includes the Patriots’ opponents in Super Bowl XLIX.
Since 2011, the Seattle Seahawks have fielded more PED violators than any other team. Even Richard Sherman, the face of the franchise, tested positive, but won his appeal after an arbitrator determined there were flaws in acquiring his urine sample — a fishy appeal ruling if there ever was one.
Sherman has been quoted as saying that half of NFL players use Adderall. Technically, that is against the rules. So, I ask all you altruistic Patriot-haters — are all of those players cheaters? Sounds like they are to me, technically speaking.
The stinky behavior doesn’t stop at PEDs for the Seahawks. Since 2012, the Seahawks have been caught practicing illegally over the offseason. The most recent offense occurred this past Jun. 18, when the Seahawks were found to be having excessive contact in practice before the league-mandated date for such activity. Pete Carroll and the team were fined more than $300,000, but everyone seems to be forgetting that now.
Deflategate is a product of a sports media that is ravenous for a big story in anticipation of the Super Bowl, fueled by anti-Patriots sentiment that just about any fan outside of New England can relate with. Any rational and honest NFL fan will eventually admit that the Patriots are not alone in the rule-tweaking category, and thus should stop being treated as the antagonists of the league.
Speaking as someone fatigued by the hypocrisy of Deflategate, I call on all fans, regardless of allegiance, to take a step back and view the league as a whole. Most likely, hundreds of players juice up. Most likely, tens of ball boys have been asked to take some air out of a few game balls. And last but not least, let us remember that Roger Goodell has been caught in more than one lie.
The Patriots cheated. So have the Seahawks, and the league office, and countless other NFL entities. It looks like they are all sinners, so let’s shut up about how the Patriots’ legacy is tainted and enjoy Super Bowl XLIX, needles and deflated balls and all.
Connor Fulton is a Patriots writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ConnorFultonRS, or find him on Google.
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