Tom Brady may have avoided his punishment, but most Americans still think he was aware of the ball scandal and view the Patriots as cheaters
Are you ready for some football? For the New England Patriots and their star quarterback, Tom Brady, the answer has to be yes! According to YouGov's latest research, 47% of Americans follow professional football on a regular basis or consider themselves to be a fan of the National Football League (NFL). Thursday night marks the end of a tumultuous off season when the current NFL champions, the New England Patriots, host the Pittsburgh Steelers in the opening game of the regular season.
For the Patriots, the end of the off season couldn't come soon enough. The team has been mired in the "Deflategate" controversy ever since officials detected they used under inflated footballs in the AFC Championship game last January. That discovery lead to a high profile NFL investigation that determined it was "more probable than not" that the team and its quarterback, Tom Brady, were at least generally aware of Patriots employees intentionally releasing air from the team's game balls. When the allegations of cheating first arose, a YouGov survey found 50% of football fans thought the Patriots were cheaters. The latest YouGov research shows that percentage has increased to 58% of football fans.
As a result of the investigation, the NFL fined the New England Patriots $1 million and the team lost two draft picks. Furthermore, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell imposed a four game suspension on Tom Brady. Using the league's process, Brady lost his appeal of the four game suspension. Shortly after news of Brady's lost NFL appeal, a YouGov survey showed that 64% of football fans approved of the Commissioner's decision to maintain the four game suspension. The latest YouGov research shows that a majority of football fans still approve of the Commissioner's decision.
Perhaps that is because in the court of public opinion, Tom Brady is hardly considered innocent. The latest YouGov research shows that two-thirds of football fans (and four out of five people who aren't fans of football but have an opinion on the issue) think Tom Brady was at least generally aware of other Patriots employees intentionally releasing air from the team's game balls before the AFC Championship Game.
Back in July, football fans were split over the NFL's handling of "Deflategate"; the latest YouGov research shows that the percentage of football fans satisfied with the NFL's handling of the controversy has decreased.
One explanation for the decrease in fan satisfaction may be that a fair amount of fans don't believe the NFL conducted a fair and impartial investigation into "Deflategate".
However, evidence from the latest YouGov research suggests the decline in fan satisfaction is driven by the fact the four game suspension didn't stick. Immediately after Brady lost his appeal using the NFL appeals process, the NFL Players' Assocation, the union which represents professional football players, sued the league on behalf of Tom Brady in federal court. In a ruling released last week, the federal judge overturned the NFL suspension and declared the NFL's investigation and disciplinary processes severely flawed. Even though football fans are split on whether or not the NFL conducted a fair and impartial investigation into "Deflategate", nearly half of football fans disapprove of the judge's decision to overturn the four game suspension.
Full poll results can be found here and topline results and margin of error here.
