The New England Patriots. The most successful NFL team of the new millennium. Arguably the most successful franchise in all of sports of the new millennium too. This era for New England will without a doubt go down as one of the greatest teams in sports history. Since 2001 New England has claimed 4 Super Bowl titles, 6 AFC Championships, 12 division titles, and a 160-47 record with a .774 winning percentage (the highest percentage in NFL history). Unfortunately, with success comes scrutiny.

We as sports fans have seen this before. Whenever a team lives atop the food chain of success they are placed under a spotlight where other teams, the league, fans, and analysts sit and await their downfall. We have seen this with the 90s New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Lakers. Not a lot of people have sympathy for the Patriots anymore, due to the fact all they do is win. That is where the scrutiny comes into play. As we all know, the Patriots are on the hot seat for “Deflategate”.

On Tuesday the official investigation report on the matter was released by NFL investigator Ted Wells. Wells put together a 243 page report concluding that “it is more probable than not that the New England Patriots personnel participated in violations of the Playing Rules and were involved in a deliberate effort to circumvent the rules.”

Let’s back up for a second. What was stated above took four months of investigating. Yet, that statement as well as the other 242 pages is weaved and laced with the word “probable”. I don’t know about you, but it’s not much of a conclusion if the word “probable” is at the core.

Another hit line from Wells’ report was “Tom Brady was generally aware.” Again, what does that even mean? Generally aware? There is nothing concrete about that statement at all. Aaron Rodgers had no problem stating he prefers his balls over inflated. Every quarterback should be “generally aware” of the ball status before a game. Unfortunately, due to that vague “conclusion” fingers very quickly pointed towards Brady, and only Brady.

But let’s back up even more and get to the big picture. Over the past two or so years in the NFL there have been countless amounts of cases involving domestic violence, substance abuse, and bullying. Out of all those horrible cases the NFL and the media seems to be focusing most of their attention on footballs that were slightly deflated in one game. Why? It’s simple. The Patriots are THAT team atop the mountain right now. Deflategate aside, it’s been made very clear that America is sick of the Patriots.

Adrian Peterson beat his four year old child with a tree branch which got him suspended for the 2014 season. Yet heading into the 2015 season Peterson seems to be only recognized as one of the league's best running backs, not as guy who beat his son with a tree branch. The same goes for defensive back Greg Hardy who was arrested for domestic violence against his girlfriend in 2014. Ted Wells’ investigation report on the deflated footballs is 147 pages longer than the report on Ray Rices’ domestic violence case. You know, the case where former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice socked his fiance in an elevator then dragged her out by the hair.

My point? How can society point fingers at Tom Brady and the New England Patriots for having slightly less air in a ball while we have men like Peterson, Hardy, or Rice playing in the league?

I can assure you with great confidence that if this same exact situation occurred to the Jaguars, or the Giants, or the Raiders, or any other team for that matter and the league was fully aware of it, nothing like this would happen. Hence the scrutiny. For a team that’s been to the Super Bowl six times in 15 years, and has a quarterback that has more postseasons wins than 21 other teams, this is pure gold. A few days after the initial story broke in January, the NFL’s receiving touchdown leader Jerry Rice admitted to using sticky substances on his gloves to better catch the ball. I really don’t see a difference in situations.

Bottom line: It’s embarrassing and even pathetic that an absolutely incredible career by Tom Brady is being torn apart due to a game that had under inflated footballs for 30 minutes. Don’t let this be how the great Tom Brady is remembered when there are legitimate problems in the NFL. Want to know what Ted Wells didn't include in his report? Two weeks later on February 1, Brady dropped four TDs on the best defense in the league and captured his fourth Super Bowl trophy while shattering 9 Super Bowl records.

As annoying as a comeback it might be, and maybe even childish, for the Patriots it has simply come down to, “hate us, because you aint us.”

The New England Patriots. The most successful NFL team of the new millennium. Arguably the most successful franchise in all of sports of the new millennium too. This era for New England will without a doubt go down as one of the greatest teams in sports history. Since 2001 New England has claimed 4 Super Bowl titles, 6 AFC Championships, 12 division titles, and a 160-47 record with a .774 winning percentage (the highest percentage in NFL history). Unfortunately, with success comes scrutiny.

We as sports fans have seen this before. Whenever a team lives atop the food chain of success they are placed under a spotlight where other teams, the league, fans, and analysts sit and await their downfall. We have seen this with the 90s New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Lakers. Not a lot of people have sympathy for the Patriots anymore, due to the fact all they do is win. That is where the scrutiny comes into play. As we all know, the Patriots are on the hot seat for “Deflategate”.

On Tuesday the official investigation report on the matter was released by NFL investigator Ted Wells. Wells put together a 243 page report concluding that “it is more probable than not that the New England Patriots personnel participated in violations of the Playing Rules and were involved in a deliberate effort to circumvent the rules.”

Let’s back up for a second. What was stated above took four months of investigating. Yet, that statement as well as the other 242 pages is weaved and laced with the word “probable”. I don’t know about you, but it’s not much of a conclusion if the word “probable” is at the core.

Another hit line from Wells’ report was “Tom Brady was generally aware.” Again, what does that even mean? Generally aware? There is nothing concrete about that statement at all. Aaron Rodgers had no problem stating he prefers his balls over inflated. Every quarterback should be “generally aware” of the ball status before a game. Unfortunately, due to that vague “conclusion” fingers very quickly pointed towards Brady, and only Brady.

But let’s back up even more and get to the big picture. Over the past two or so years in the NFL there have been countless amounts of cases involving domestic violence, substance abuse, and bullying. Out of all those horrible cases the NFL and the media seems to be focusing most of their attention on footballs that were slightly deflated in one game. Why? It’s simple. The Patriots are THAT team atop the mountain right now. Deflategate aside, it’s been made very clear that America is sick of the Patriots.

Adrian Peterson beat his four year old child with a tree branch which got him suspended for the 2014 season. Yet heading into the 2015 season Peterson seems to be only recognized as one of the league's best running backs, not as guy who beat his son with a tree branch. The same goes for defensive back Greg Hardy who was arrested for domestic violence against his girlfriend in 2014. Ted Wells’ investigation report on the deflated footballs is 147 pages longer than the report on Ray Rices’ domestic violence case. You know, the case where former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice socked his fiance in an elevator then dragged her out by the hair.

My point? How can society point fingers at Tom Brady and the New England Patriots for having slightly less air in a ball while we have men like Peterson, Hardy, or Rice playing in the league?

I can assure you with great confidence that if this same exact situation occurred to the Jaguars, or the Giants, or the Raiders, or any other team for that matter and the league was fully aware of it, nothing like this would happen. Hence the scrutiny. For a team that’s been to the Super Bowl six times in 15 years, and has a quarterback that has more postseasons wins than 21 other teams, this is pure gold. A few days after the initial story broke in January, the NFL’s receiving touchdown leader Jerry Rice admitted to using sticky substances on his gloves to better catch the ball. I really don’t see a difference in situations.

Bottom line: It’s embarrassing and even pathetic that an absolutely incredible career by Tom Brady is being torn apart due to a game that had under inflated footballs for 30 minutes. Don’t let this be how the great Tom Brady is remembered when there are legitimate problems in the NFL. Want to know what Ted Wells didn’t include in his report? Two weeks later on February 1, Brady dropped four TDs on the best defense in the league and captured his fourth Super Bowl trophy while shattering 9 Super Bowl records.

As annoying as a comeback it might be, and maybe even childish, for the Patriots it has simply come down to, “hate us, because you aint us.”