O_P_T
Why Be Normal
Here's Mike Freeman's take on it.
10. The Patriots' Double Standard
Most of the time, I'm not a believer in conspiracies. They are for the weak-minded and excuse-makers. I do believe in double standards, however, and the Patriots are facing big, fat ones.
The news that Seattle's Richard Sherman and the Seahawks hid his knee injury—in full violation of the rules, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk—introduces an interesting what-if.
Imagine, for a second, we are transported to an alternate universe. In that universe, a Patriots star had a knee injury hidden by the team, and it was discovered after the season concluded. What would the reaction of the NFL be? Of the media? Of non-Patriots fans?
Bill Belichick would be brought before a Klingon tribunal.
The reaction to what the Seahawks did, though, has been mild. The injury report is a significant document. It keeps (or attempts to keep) everything on the record. It's far from successful, but it does often work.
What the Seahawks did, or in this case, did not do, should raise alarm bells across the league about their loose adherence to NFL rules.
Will it?