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Patriots: Mark Cuban Praises Goodell on Handing DeflateGate

By Matthew Rewinski

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Mark Cuban continues to spout off against the Patriots in the DeflateGate scandal. This time praising Roger Goodell for handling the situation “masterfully”.

Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks owner, Shark Tank star, and professed user of only thirteen apps was in town on Wednesday night to watch his Mavericks take on the Boston Celtics. Based on his comments in the past, a reporter asked Cuban before the game what he thought about how the NFL handled the Tom Brady/DeflateGate/Ballghazi/PATS CHEAT scandal.

To be fair, this reporter wasn’t just drudging up Deflategate out of the blue. Mark Cuban, as he does, has offered several habanero-hot takes on the subject before.  Back in May, before NFL commissioner Roger Goodell actually punished Brady and the Patriots, Cuban predicted a $1 million fine for the Patriots as punishment.

Marky Mark also said, after the news of Brady’s destroyed cellphone was leaked to ESPN, that Brady would have been punished much more harshly in the NBA, because “…The NFL can’t have players, their agents and lawyers thinking that if you do wrong and just destroy the evidence it will all be OK. That can undermine the integrity of the league.”

Gosh, that sure sounds familiar.

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So when DeflateGate came up in an interview before the Celtics and Mavs took the court, here’s what Mark Cuban’s opinion is this week (via NESN):

“It was obvious to me that it was up to (commissioner) Roger Goodell to take the heat and take responsibility — and he handled it masterfully,” Cuban responded.”The fact it got reversed and all that is irrelevant. The NFL always loses their court cases the first time. Always. They end up winning them after it doesn’t matter.”

“I don’t know if (quarterback Tom) Brady lied or not. Who knows, right, with the whole phone thing and everything. The reality is it’s all about the good of the game, and that’s what Roger’s responsible for.”

“It’s not about Brady or anything else, it’s about how you manage the golden goose. That’s what he’s trying to do. I give him credit for taking all the bullets.”

When asked if Roger Goodell has too much power, Cuban brushed off the question. “No. He’s got 32 bosses. It’s hard to have too much power when you have 32 bosses. Trust me. I don’t know the NFL and I’m just guessing, but he ain’t doing s— without getting feedback from all the owners.”

Before just telling Mark Cuban to shove it and moving on with our lives, there’s a lot more telling information in what he said than Cuban just trying to poke the bear.  It seems like he’s just running his mouth, but the man doesn’t say things by accident.

And the key is the use of the word “masterfully” to describe how Roger Goodell handled DeflateGate, when most people would describe Goodell’s actions post-AFC Championship as about as masterful as Harry and Lloyd’s trip to Aspen, Colorado.

One of Mark Cuban’s greatest talents, and a priceless part of his success, is keeping Mark Cuban, the man, the myth, the legend, in the news.  Foot-in-mouth potential be damned, any publicity is good publicity.

So regardless of the original allegations of cheating being largely insignificant, Cuban surely means that once the situation blew up in the national media and kept gathering steam with every juicy detail, Goodell realized that DeflateGate was his ticket on the gravy train to giving most of America exactly what they craved.

Those being 31 of the 32 NFL owners, the NFL’s news partners, and NFL fans.

The ESPN Spygate ether-job after Brady’s suspension was revoked is irrefutable proof that almost every NFL owner wanted to see the Patriots burn.  Make 31 of your 32 bosses happy by grotesquely over punishing the team everyone hates? Check!

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Roger Goodell is also the man who, somehow, found a way to keep the NFL front and center on your TV no matter what time of year it is.  The Combine.  The Draft.  Free Agency.  Preseason. Suspension appeals.  Super Bowl media week.

Now, why squash a cheating scandal at the deadest time of the sports year when you can ride it all the way to next year’s season?  So much coverage.  So many viewers tuned in.  So much ad revenue to be made.

And finally, for any NFL fan whose team isn’t the Patriots, watching the most hated team in the NFL get continually dragged through the mud by the league, sports media, and salty ex-players like Marshall Faulk and Jerry Rice?  Delicious.  Love it.  The league finally giving those smug, dirty, lying cheaters what they deserve, right?

Next: Despite 9-0 Start, Patriots Should Absolutely Be Worried

Hence, this final Cuban quote:

“It’s about how you manage the golden goose.”

One more time, for good measure:

“Masterfully”

And in that sense, Mark Cuban is exactly right.

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