Internet Rallies to Pay the Patriots $1 Million Deflategate Fine
Patriots fans are putting their money where their mouth is.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the team pay the $1 million fine it owes as part of the NFL's punishment for the Deflategate scandal.
It may seem somewhat silly, considering Patriots owner Robert Kraft is a millionaire. Yes, a million dollars is a lot of money, but it's not like he's a single mother living in a trailer trying to decide whether she has to spend whatever money she has on taking her son to the doctor or buying groceries to last for the week. Even the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team you may not be aware of that also plays in the NFL, is owned by a millionaire. The point being: owners can take the hit.
And the Patriots, whether they pay the fine out of their own pockets or use funds that were crowd-sourced, continue to stand behind Tom Brady, who has been suspended four games for his role in the matter. The team changed its Facebook and Twitter avatars to Brady's jersey.
Everybody has an opinion on this story, even those who aren't connected to football, like Senator Harry Reid, who used the decision to suspend Tom Brady for four games as an opportunity to remind people the NFL still hasn't taken action against the controversial Washington Redskins name:
So, what do you think? Do you respect fans willing to help the Patriots pay or is this a waste of time and money? Is the NFL being too harsh? Is this whole story just being blown out of proportion?