Jets' Jason Babin wants it light on Tom Brady's punishment
Tom Brady's penalty "extremely harsh:" Jason Babin, 35, is the oldest player on the Jets and perhaps the most opinionated when it comes to matters involving the league office and the NFL Players' Association -- i.e. DeflateGate. The veteran linebacker is a former player rep and his grandfather was a union leader in Chicago, where he dealt with Jimmy Hoffa, so Babin can be described as pro-union. But the developments surrounding the Tom Brady/New England Patriots controversy are making him shake his head.
"The punishment seems extremely harsh, comparative to other punishments for other things -- off the field and performance-enhancement penalties," Babin told ESPN.com. "A lot of guys aren't happy that we gave away the right to a fair and balanced procedure when it comes to discipline, giving carte blanche to the commissioner. A lot of guys, when we re-visit the CBA again, hopefully re-think that option or at least fight for it."
Jason Babin of the New York Jets blames the players' union for the harsh penalty imposed on New England QB Tom Brady. The union gave away too much power to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in the 2011 new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Most people remember the hugs and kisses between Indianapolis Colts' C Jeff Saturday and Patriots' owner Bob Kraft. The balance of power clearly shifted, and the big winner was Roger Goodell. “When we re-visit the CBA again,” Babin suggests, “hopefully re-think that option or at least fight for [Goodell possessing less disciplinary power].”
Babin attended the 2011 CBA negotiations and says Goodell’s disciplinary power “never got brought up” in the meetings. Disgusted with the results, Babin stepped aside as the Tennessee Titans' player representative. Jason was quite critical of union chief DeMaurice Smith settling for a subpar deal in ending the strike.
It now falls on Tom Brady to help the players regain control of the complete process. Roger Goodell is coming off the edge unblocked. For Babin, it is now time to 'take a stand."
The outspoken conservative Jason Babin is more concerned with the process than he is for Tom Brady.
Paul Murphy is a freelance writer from New Hampshire. .
Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy
For more of my articles, click here.
