Reactions vary wildly to league's 'Deflategate' sanctions

By Mark Lamport-Stokes (Reuters) - Reaction to the sanctions handed out on Monday by the National Football League to the New England Patriots and their star quarterback Tom Brady varied sharply from "absolutely ridiculous" to "a good thing." The league fined the Patriots $1 million and said the team would also forfeit their first-round selection in the 2016 draft and a fourth-round pick in 2017 for their role in 'Deflategate' while Brady was suspended four games.. The sanctions followed the release last week of a 243-page report by Ted Wells, an attorney hired by the NFL to probe allegations that the Patriots purposely deflated the balls used in their 45-7 AFC title game win over the Indianapolis Colts. "THIS IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!! SMH #PATSNATION STAND UP!!!!!" Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount said on Twitter. Cleveland Browns safety Donte Whitner expressed sympathy for the Patriots quarterback, tweeting: "I honestly feel bad for Tom Brady!! I know first hand the type of competitor he is & how much work he puts in... Came down too hard on him!" Patriots owner Robert Kraft described the punishment as far exceeding "any reasonable expectation," saying in a statement: "It was based completely on circumstantial rather than hard or conclusive evidence. Tom Brady has our unconditional support." Retired former three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Shawne Merriman, however, approved of the league's actions. "It's a good thing the @nfl suspended Tom Brady now everyone knows that NOBODY is above the system #NFL #FairGame," Merriman tweeted. Arizona Cardinals linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, agreed, saying on Twitter: "I think the suspension is warranted, they came down hard on the organization though. #Deflategate" Daniel Durbin, director of the USC Annenberg Institute of Sports, Media and Society, felt the sanctions imposed by the league were "about what everyone had guessed" after the Patriots had played "fast and loose by the rules" over the years. "The $1 million is in many respects a slap on the wrist, that's lunch money during the football season," Durbin told Reuters. "The larger issue is taking away their quarterback. "That has some impact on revenue because one of their star players is gone for the first four games of the season. It also has some impact on their play, it makes it more challenging for them to win. "The first-round draft pick is relatively significant because first-round draft picks are important in the NFL, you don't like losing them." GAINING AN EDGE The Patriots have been caught trying to gain an edge before and their head coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 in 2007 for breaking rules regarding videotaping opponent's signals from the sidelines in what has been dubbed 'Spygate.' The Pats were also fined $250,000 and forfeited a first-round draft pick for the transgression. "This is a position in many respects that the Patriots have put themselves into and the NFL has put themselves into given the history of challenges the Patriots have faced in following the rules," said Durbin. "The Patriots have developed a reputation over the last decade to 15 years certainly of flaunting the fact that they play fast and loose by the rules with Spygate and now Deflategate." "Albeit in some respects Deflategate might seem the most trivial of all of them, it's the one that finally was the straw that broke the camel's back. The NFL had to do something that seemed at least relatively commensurate with what occurred." Although there was no smoking gun, the Wells report, which took nearly four months to complete, found Brady and two members of the Patriots' equipment staff were all likely culpable. "The NFL put themselves into a corner," said Durbin. "They set a six-game suspension for domestic abuse which is a vastly more serious issue, than slightly deflating a few footballs. "But they had to give some penalty given that there does seem to be a corporate tendency with the Patriots to play fast and loose with the rules. "So the smoking gun was less necessary than the need for the NFL to give some indication they have an interest in protecting and preserving the rules and the values of the game." (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue)