NFL reporter alleges leniency in Alvin Kamara suspension - “Tom Brady was suspended more games for taking air out of a ball”
OutKick’s David Hookstead compared Alvin Kamara’s suspension for a 2022 nightclub fight to Tom Brady’s Deflategate sanction.
He tweeted:
“Tom Brady was suspended more games for taking air out of a ball than Alvin Kamara was for brutally beating a man to the point he could have killed him. Keep it classy, @NFL.”
Tom Brady was suspended more games for taking air out of a ball than Alvin Kamara was for brutally beating a man to the point he could have killed him.
Keep it classy, @NFL.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell imposed a three-game suspension on Kamara after an alleged physical confrontation the day before last year’s Pro Bowl in Las Vegas.
According to the lawsuit filed in Orleans Parish, Kamara, Indianapolis Colts cornerback Chris Lammons and other men assaulted and stomped on Darnell Greene Jr. They continued to punch Greene even if he was lying on the ground.
The victim sought a $10 million compensation for physical and exemplary damages. The lawsuit detailed that he sustained a facial fracture, head trauma, disc protrusions, and shoulder tear from the attack. These injuries required multiple surgeries to facilitate his recovery.
Alvin Kamara’s court date has been pushed back several times, allowing him to finish the 2022 NFL season. He and Lammons initially pleaded not guilty during their arraignment last March. If proven guilty, the New Orleans Saints running back could be imprisoned for up to five years for felony battery.
Instead, Kamara agreed to a plea deal, reducing his infraction to a misdemeanor breach of peace. While he will not serve jail time, the court ordered him to render 30 hours of community service and pay Greene $105,000.
The five-time Pro Bowler has publicly expressed his regret for his untoward actions. He has also settled a civil lawsuit Greene filed against him.
Alvin Kamara’s three-game suspension means that Jamaal Williams and Kendre Miller will have extended playing time during the team’s first three games in 2023. The Saints will face the Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers, and Green Bay Packers from Weeks 1 to 3.
Tom Brady’s Deflategate suspension is one game longer than Alvin Kamara’s sentence
Like Kamara, Tom Brady received a four-game suspension for his alleged involvement in reducing the air pressure on game-used footballs. He allegedly conspired with Patriots equipment assistant John Jastremski and Officials Locker Room attendant Jim McNally in deliberately releasing air on their game balls.
The investigation started after the Colts informed the league office about New England’s alleged tactic of deflating footballs before the 2014 AFC Championship Game. Indianapolis cited their Week 1 game against the Patriots, wherein safety Mike Adams noticed that the balls he intercepted were soft and spongy.
The NFL treated it as a serious matter because balls with lower air pressure than the specified range are easier to throw and catch. Eventually, Goodell gave Brady a four-game suspension. Meanwhile, the Patriots had to pay a $1 million fine and forfeit two draft picks.
While Alvin Kamara didn’t appeal his suspension, the NFL Players Association filed an appeal on Brady’s behalf. Goodell upheld the suspension, but Brady went to court for another appeal. This time, Judge Richard M. Berman lifted the suspension.
But when the NFL made its appeal on Berman’s decision, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the league, upholding Brady’s four-game suspension.