Commonwealth of vs. Bernard “Cheap Shot” Pollard

On a snowy January day in Foxboro, Massachusetts the and played for the right to participate in the NFL’s 2016 . The teams had a rather acrimonious recent history, and on this occasion the two teams were locked in a fierce back-and-forth struggle. The game was made even more intense by the late season reacquisition by the Ravens of Bernard Pollard and the acquittal and re-signing of Aaron Hernandez by the Patriots. Late in the 4th quarter, the Ravens went on a 99-yard drive, capped by a 17-yard (shockingly re-signed midseason) run that put Baltimore ahead 30-24. With 1:17 remaining, the Pats drove the field for what could be the winning touchdown. A Gronkowski catch placed the ball on the Ravens’ 4-yard line, and after two incomplete passes, it remained 3rd and goal with 18 seconds left in the contest. On third , Patriots QB rolled out to his right, and Ravens safety Bernard Pollard pursued him. Finding nobody open, Brady threw the ball away. Still continuing to run at the QB, Pollard blasted Brady with a head-to-head hit some 3.2 seconds after the whistle blew. Brady collapsed to the ground in a heap, unconscious and very obviously hurt. While Bernard Pollard did his rendition of the ‘ Shake,’ paramedics rushed to Brady’s side, only to discover him bleeding and unresponsive. They carefully carted him from the playing field. Pollard was given a personal foul and ejected from the game. With a new set of downs, the Patriots sent in untested backup , who promptly threw a pick-six, allowing Baltimore to win 37-24. (The 49ers exacted revenge in the subsequent Super Bowl, winning 91- 3, despite a sewage leak in the Meadowlands caused by Jets ownership flushing more money down the toilet that delayed the third quarter for nine hours) Subsequent tests revealed that Tom Brady had sustained a C-2 spinal cord injury, and would likely never walk again. In reviewing the tape, the NFL concluded that Pollard had violated several rules, including rules against helmet-to-helmet hits, targeting a defenseless player, late hits, and excessive celebration and taunting. Given the lateness of the hit and the substantial nature of the injury, NFL Commissioner fined Pollard $650,000 and suspended him for 15 games, with the possibility of reinstatement upon successful petition. Upon consideration of the evidence, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts began an investigation as to whether to file criminal proceedings against Bernard Pollard for first-degree battery. The relevant criminal statutes state that:

Battery: “Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously by any means whatsoever wound or cause any grievous bodily harm to any person, with intent to do some grievous bodily harm to any person, or with intent to resist or prevent the lawful apprehension or detainer of any person, shall be guilty of.”

Consent: “Consent shall be a lawful defense against battery if such consent is knowingly and freely given… The jury may judge consent by examining the totality of the circumstances and actions but also taking particular interest in: a) contractual terms that would shed light on the matter b) agreed upon rules that govern the interaction c) widely accepted conventions that govern such encounters d) previous history of such action and the actions and reactions of the parties in these circumstances”

Deposition Statement of Bernard “Cheap Shot!” Pollard

I’m a football player. That’s what I do. I play DEE-FENSE! I’m not some wimpy QB, little or flash in the pan receiver. I play free safety, which means I get paid to blow people up! And son, I blow people up like Hiroshima AND Nagasaki! If you don’t play with intensity, with violence, with anger and with emotion, then ‘NFL’ will stand for “not for long.” Am I sad at what happened to Tom? Yes, but look, we’re both professionals playing a sport that we all know is violent. People get hurt- heck I’ve been hurt before, and Brady should remember that he got his start in the league because the guy who played in front of him –Drew Bledsoe- got hurt by a huge hit that may have been illegal. That’s just the nature of the game. Just because Tom can’t play anymore doesn’t mean that “Cheap Shot” should spend a day in jail.

We had been trying to get to The Show, the Super Bowl. Just like last year, the Patriots stood in our way. This year, again, we felt like we had the horses to get the job done. We played them in the regular reason, and one of their tight ends, Gronkowski, cheap- shotted me in the first quarter. The play was over and he dove at my knees, and he caused me to have a bad knee sprain, which made me lose the next three weeks of action. To make matters worse, I saw that on his waist towel he had written “Cheap Shot,” and as I lay writhing on the ground, he pulled a Sharpie out of his sock and crossed out my name and then Tom Brady came over and gave him a high-five. I recovered a , had a pick and nine tackles at that point, and this was their way of putting me out of the game. I didn’t complain; I just manned up, did my rehab and came back even more beast than before I left. Beast mode! BEAST MOOOOODE!

In the weeks leading up the AFC Championship Game, there was a lot of talk. Tom Brady had even mocked the dance of my hero and mentor Ray Lewis at the end of their overtime win over the Jaguars. When Ray died of a deer antler and orangutan pancreas poisoning, it tore me up inside, so I dedicated this season to the memory of Ray. When, later that week, Gronkowski made a joke about Ray’s criminal past, my intensity went to DEFCON five million. Five. Million. You know what? That’s football- BRING IT! In response to this, my defensive coordinator put up “WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE: TOM BRADY” posters around the locker room. Me and some of my fellow defensive players started a pool for who would have the best game: the most sacks, the most tackles, the most big plays. When the D-coordinator found out, he walked up to the guy holding the pool jar, pulled out $400 and said, “this goes to the man who sends Brady home in an ambulance… or better yet, a body bag!” We were all geeked up for the game, and I could practically taste the blood in the water. I was a soldier in the midst of battle, drawing stremf –yeah, I said STREMF!!- from the smell of napalm and gunpowder. I’m a soldier, man, a SOLDIER!

It was a hard-hitting game, and we all played to the extreme. TO THE EXTREME, BRO! On more than one occasion, as I prepared to stuff the run, one of their receivers would illegally cut block my knees or grab my facemask. On another play, when I got pushed to the ground Tom Brady intentionally mashed my hand and wrist with his UGGs cleats. You know what? That was not unusual… He feared the Cheap Shot, and was trying to either intimidate me or get me out of the game.

On the fateful play, everyone was obviously in an extreme emotional state. We needed a goal line stand to make it to the Super Bowl, so you knew that we were going to bring it. WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE! On first down, Gronkowski gave me an illegal cut block, and it hurt my knee real bad, so I had to leave the field for a play. I came back in on third down, and then on the snap of the ball I dropped back into coverage. When I saw Brady scramble to his right, my adrenaline and mojo got cracked up from Level Extreme to Level Preposterous, and I flew at him like a missile. I’m not sure what happened exactly, but I nailed that fool with the best hit in NFL history. His mouthpiece went in one direction, his helmet flew off, and I could hear his jaw crack in half. It was intense... and AWESOME! I was so amped up that I gave a huge Ray Lewis dance to let the crowd know the score. Me 1, New England 0!!

Football is a rough sport, and Tom knew that when he laced on his shoes that day. What I don’t understand is how the NFL can promote me on the cover of Madden Football, make me a prominent part of their NFL’s Biggest Hits videos, and make the physicality of the sport a central part of its marketing campaign and then punish me for putting Brady on the Pain Train to Miseryville. Besides, it’s not like Brady was innocent in all of this. He told Gronk to cheap shot me, and in the NFL it is accepted that you prevent people from cheap-shotting you by letting it be known that you will take a brother out! Tom Brady acted like a jive turkey, and on this day Cheap Shot decided it was Thanksgiving. I carved that fool up! Gobble-gobble, sucka. Word.

Cheap Shot, out!

Deposition of Pat Ridonculosity, Director of Marketing for the NFL

For the 2015-2016 NFL season, the NFL decided on a marketing campaign called “ChamPAINship: You Gotta Want It!” We focused on two things. First, we spent a lot of time talking about how hard NFL players work to get themselves into shape and mentally ready to play football. Then, we focused on just what a painful and hard-hitting game the NFL is. It was one of our most popular advertising campaigns, and our sponsors loved it and fans bought all sorts of NFL apparel and merchandise that had the “ChamPAINship” logo on it.

When we first presented the marketing campaign to the NFL, Commissioner Roger Goodell expressed some concern over the fact that in our commercials and promotional material for ChamPAINship, many of the clips involved people getting hit with illegal shots. I then showed the Commissioner some of our market research that showed that our fans loved seeing people get hit with big shots, and he signed off on the project. There were three commercials that we aired. In these three commercials that aired throughout the entire 2015-2016 season, there were a total of 57 hits, and in examining the video the NFL Competition Committee determined that 39 of them were illegal. In addition, in Madden 2016, big hits and the resulting injuries feature prominently. In the final playoff edition of our ChamPAINship promotion, we featured a montage of Bernard “Cheap Shot” Pollard, the man who the NFL chose to feature on the cover of EA Sports Madden 2016. Of the 17 tackles and hits of his that we showed, 12 were illegal because they were either late or involved helmet-to-helmet contact.

In addition to this particular promotion, I can tell you that of the 377 videos that the NFL has marketed in the last 20 years, 18 of the top 20 best selling videos were “biggest hits” videos that allowed fans to experience the nastiest tackles over and over again- many of them illegal. Our marketing research tells us clearly that fans love big hits, and so the NLF tries to deliver that as much as possible.

Deposition of Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski, TE New England Patriots

Football intense. Gronk have 13 surgeries, and every week Gronk’s job require Gronk to keep very fast very big men from smashing Tom. Gronk must also catch passes with bad guys trying to hurt Gronk. NFL is hard. Football a game for me-- and children, women, suckers and chumps best not apply, ‘cause they can’t hang. Gronk at , so part of Gronk’s job is to keep Tom healthy. It hurts Gronk’s heart to see Tom in wheelchair. Tom used to be American superhero, now Tom can’t walk. It make Gronk cry, but Gronk don’t blame Pollard.

When Gronk play Baltimore during regular season, Coach Bill made stopping Pollard a priority. Coach Bill told Gronk, “take him out.” I understood what that meant because we had been using illegal blocking techniques to hurt defensive linemen for years and years. Then, on the Friday before the big game, Pollard gave an interview with ESPN Deportes in which he said that he was going to kick our butt so bad that we would feel his foot for entire offseason. He said Brady would be a “grande piñata!” Gronk felt disrespected, so all the offensive linemen talked to Tom, and Tom gave Gronk the idea of writing Pollard’s name on our waist towels so that when one of us hurt him we would cross it off.

The game was intense, and at one point Gronk got tired of Pollard’s dancing and smack talking. So, when Gronk saw an opportunity to hurt him, Gronk did. This is the NFL- if you’re here for pink tea and tiddlywinks you’re in the wrong place. Mollycoddles need not apply; this ain’t tennis, you’re gunna get hit… hard. I learned new word. Mollycoddle. Gronk smart. So, yeah, I blew him up like… eh… Gronk not good with metaphors. Gronk hurt him. Bad. As he was writhing on the ground like a little girl, Gronk spit in his face to let him know the score. Patriots 1, Pollard 0. Gronk win, you lose, take a hike buster!

The rematch in the AFC Championship game was huge. We were 17-0, and they were 16-1, and it was basically the biggest game in the NFL’s history. The atmosphere in the was electric, and both sides were incandescent with focused rage, intensity, emotion and ill will. Gronk poetic. Every man in a uniform had nothing but unchecked venom for our opponents, and from the mood of the crowd, it seemed like 70,000 Patriots fans had shown up with blood on their mind. In the press that week, Pollard had called us out as cheaters, and said that we were pretty tough… for a bunch of Girl Scouts. He made jokes about Gisele cheating on Tom, about how coach Bill couldn’t win without spying on his opponents, about how Gronk had deflated balls, and how Boston was “full of idiots who smelled like cabbage and rotten bananas.” It was on… on like Donkey Kong!

Yeah, there was some rough stuff that took place during the game, but in the NFL everyone cheats; the good ones just know how to avoid getting caught. There were lots of late hits and I would say that on 75% of the plays that day something dirty went down. But again, this is the NFL. In this league, if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying. You have to physically intimidate your opponents or else they will intimidate you, and if you lose the mental battle, half the battle has already been lost. So, yeah, Pollard’s hit was absolutely illegal and late and vicious, but the fact of the matter is that there are hits like that on 15-20 plays in every game in every week. It just so happens that in this case it ended up with one of the league’s marquee players having his career ended.

Gronk truly sorry for what happened to Tom, but the league and Massachusetts are going too far. They want to take the violence out of the game and put the offensive players in skirts and ballet shoes. This game needs hard hits to keep the fans interested, and if you strip that from them then we are disrespecting the 75 years of tough guys who built this league on blood, broken bones, torn ligaments, lots of guts and gallons of sweat. Gronk don’t have a problem with the league suspending him, but prosecuting him? No way, man. We all know that in the NFL you could get hurt, paralyzed or even killed on even given Sunday. This is why we make the big bucks.

Gronk sad. When Gronk see Brady in wheelchair, Gronk thought of the profound line by French poet Charles Baudelaire from le Fleur du Mal, “I know that pain is the one nobility, upon which Hell itself cannot encroach. Or, ‘Je sais que la douleur est la noblesse unique, sur lequel l'enfer lui-même ne peut pas empiéter,’ if you prefer the original French. Gronk not stupid; Gronk study French Literature at Arizona.

Deposition of Tom Brady, QB of the New England Patriots

Football was my life, and Bernard Pollard took it from me. As a small child growing up in San Mateo, I dreamed of becoming the next Joe Montana, and as a high schooler I put in long hours in the weight room and even longer hours studying film in the hopes that I could earn a scholarship to the University of Michigan. When the Wolverines didn’t come calling, I put together a highlight tape, sent it to them and called three times per week until they finally sent a scout to see me play. I was nervous as heck that day, but I played better than I’d ever played in my life and I earned a scholarship to play football at the greatest university in the free world. While there I won a national championship, led my team to a win over Florida in the Citrus Bowl, and set lots of school records. Nonetheless, I had to prove myself once again when the Patriots drafted me in the 6th Round of the NFL Draft. But, I worked my tail off, earned a spot as a backup, and a few years later when the starter Drew Bledsoe got hurt made the most of my opportunity, won the Super Bowl, and the rest is history. I love football… and Bernard Pollard took that from me.

There had been bad blood brewing between these two teams for years. Going back a few seasons to when some of our players mocked Ray Lewis’s idiotic dance, to the next season when their chump running back Ray Rice called us classless, to the following year when we knocked them out of the playoffs again, we knew that they hated us and wanted to hurt us. I never thought that they would go this far.

It leaked out before the game that the Ravens had put a bounty on me, so I told my offensive line to do what they had to do to protect me. Pollard was trying to get at me all game, and he often did, but I knew that he wanted to do more than just hit me, he wanted to hurt me. With the game on the line, 3rd and goal with the go-ahead TD within our grasp I threw the ball away when nobody was open. The play was over for three seconds –an eternity in football- when Pollard flew at me full speed. I turned to see him just at the last second, then everything went dark and when I woke up I couldn’t feel my legs or my arms.

My life has since taken a downward turn. My wife left me for Tim Tebow, and people who used to be my so-called friends have left me because now that I’m not the starting QB of the Patriots they’re just not that into me. I blame Pollard for this. What he did was not a football play, it was a plain old mugging. He assaulted me with a degree of depravity that I have never seen in this game. There was no legitimate play to be made because the play was over. What he did was no different that if he had hit me in the head while I was walking to my car in the parking lot. He needs to go to jail.

Deposition of Roger Goodell, Commission of the

The NFL’s position on this matter is clear and unequivocal. The actions of Mr. Pollard not only violate the rules of the National Football League, but are so egregious and violent that they go beyond the scope of football. As such, in addition to the penalty that the Baltimore Ravens incurred on the field, the National Football League also levied a substantial fine on Mr. Pollard and suspended him from most of the 2015-2016 season as well. The Office of the Commissioner believes that these actions were not related to the game of football, but were rather part of a larger grudge between two players that escalated into a pointless and violent assault on the person of Mr. Tom Brady. As such, NFL Security has cooperated fully with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in putting together its prosecution of Mr. Pollard. The NFL believes that Mr. Pollard should be prosecuted because his attack on Mr. Brady was not a football play, it was a thuggish attempt to hurt someone.

Though the rules for late hits, helmet-to-helmet collisions and other violent conduct are clear, the NFL made a point of emphasizing these rules before the start of the 2008-2009 NFL season by sending a memorandum to every player in the NFL reminding them of the rule and letting them know that it would be strictly enforced. In addition, every player had to watch a 20-minute video detailing proper and improper hits and also proper tackling techniques. No player could ever argue honestly that such hits are part of football. They are not, and they were told as much.

The NFL chose to make an example of Mr. Pollard for several reasons. First, upon review of the game tape we believe that Mr. Pollard’s actions were particularly ugly and egregious. Second, given the long and bitter rivalry between these two teams and the acrimonious history of recriminations and dirty or marginal tactics, I felt that something had to be done to curb the growing perception among players that they must police themselves through the use of violent, dirty and/or illegal tactics. The NFL wishes to assert clearly that players must not resort to dirty tactics to “protect” themselves; rather, they must allow the game officials to call and punish offenses. Lastly, the league wanted to make clear that a certain class of behaviors go beyond the pale of what is allowed in football. While acknowledging that certain kinds of tactics might violate the rules of the game but are still part of the game, the NFL also asserts that certain actions might occur during the game, but are in no measure part of it. Mr. Pollard’s actions are of just such a variety.

Deposition of , Defensive Coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens

Sometimes a sports rivalry can go beyond just sports, and can spill over into something ugly, and personal and savage. I regret the role that I played in the injury that Tom Brady suffered on that awful, awful night. I used to think that all there was in this world was football. I ate football, I drank football, and when I slept I dreamed of football. The game has cost me friendships, relationships, and happiness, and only now after I left the game and found refuge in Buddhism do I fully understand the folly of my ways. What a fool I was.

In retrospect, I see that I allowed the rivalry with the Patriots to go too far. Too often, they stood in our way and prevented us from accomplishing our goal of getting to and winning a Super Bowl. We began to become fixate, even obsessed, with them. This did not change, even after we won the Super Bowl. When we played them in the regular season and they beat us after several of their players used dirty tactics, I had had enough. The league had made a mockery of the competition by allowing their coaches to continue after Spygate, and as I watched player after player on my team fall to injury because of their illegal blocks and tackles, I knew that 1) the NFL would not protect our players, and 2) we needed to regain a psychological edge.

When the AFC Championship Game came around, I told the defense that I would give $400 to anyone who took Brady out. When I said it, I could see fire in the eyes of Pollard, and the entire team got rowdy and riled up about the prospect of blowing up the Golden Boy. All week long, as the players practiced, I would chant and taunt, “The Patriots don’t respect you!” or “Brady thinks he can rip you up. He thinks our defense is a joke!” Every time I would mention how great the New England offense was, I could sense the competitive juices start to flow, and by the time that Sunday night rolled around, my boys were like an enormous Mt. Vesuvius waiting to explode with intensity and anger. The game was as advertised. Each side got more than 10 personal fouls, but the rough nature of the play was matched by some truly brilliant displays of talent.

As the game went on, I could see our defense getting tired. So, in one last motivational ploy, I called time out before the infamous 3rd Down play. I pulled out my iPhone and pulled up some video of the Patriots players doing the Ray Lewis dance, making fun of our fallen brother by wearing a #52 jersey and fake antler hats. Then I handed Pollard a towel that had his number written on it and crossed out. I wanted him to remember what they had done to him. Oh, he was angry and he told me, “Pssshhh. You know what that sound is, coach? That’s me opening up a can of kick ass.” And I responded, “Cheap Shot, we came here to kick ass and drink beer… and bro, I’m all out of beer! Get’er done!” With a primal scream he ran back out onto the field, injured leg and all. What happened next is well known, and it broke my heart… nobody should ever be hurt in the way that Tom was… it’s just a game… it’s just a game… it’s just a game…

Relevant NFL Rules

3. No defensive player may run into a passer of a legal forward pass after the ball has left his hand (15 yards). The Referee must determine whether opponent had a reasonable chance to stop his momentum during an attempt to block the pass or the passer while he still had the ball.

4. No defensive player who has an unrestricted path to the may hit him flagrantly.

Commissioner’s Authority

The Commissioner has sole authority to investigate and to take appropriate disciplinary or corrective measures if any club action, nonparticipant interference, or emergency occurs in an NFL game which he deems so unfair or outside the accepted tactics encountered in professional football that such action has a major effect on the result of a game.

Penalties for Unfair Acts

The Commissioner’s powers under this section (UNFAIR ACTS) include the imposition of monetary fines and draft choice forfeitures, suspension of persons involved, and, if appropriate, the reversal of a game’s result or the rescheduling of a game, either from the beginning or from the point at which the extraordinary act occurred. In the event of rescheduling a game, the Commissioner will be guided by the procedures specified above ("Procedures for Starting and Resuming Games" under EMERGENCIES). In all cases, the Commissioner will conduct a full investigation, including the opportunity for hearings, use of game videotape, and any other procedures he deems appropriate.

32. Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Any act contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship.

Roger Goodell Commission, National Football League

Roger Goodell National Football League 765 Fifth Avenue, Suite 8765 New York, NY 10067

TO: Players and Coaches FROM: Commissioner’s Office RE: Late Hits Clarified DATE: August 17, 2015

This letter is to clarify the league’s policy regarding late hits. Upon a meeting of the NFL’s Rules Committee, the players and coaches are advised that in the upcoming season particular attention will be paid to unsportsmanlike conduct. In particular, the league shall seek to eradicate late hits, especially to .

The league regards late hits to quarterbacks, any helmet-to-helmet collision, and any tackle or football move designed to harm another players as patently against the rules and spirit of the game of football, and the Office of the Commissioner shall direct officials to enforce these rules with particular assiduousness and vigor. In addition, in cases of particularly flagrant abuses of this rule, the Office of the Commissioner shall regard these actions as going beyond the behaviors typically associated with football, and shall seek to punish players, coaches and/or team with fines and suspensions commensurate with the nature of the offense involved.

Players should take this admonition into account as they play, and coaches must do likewise with respect to the preparation of their players.

Sincerely,

Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the National Football League

From the Office of Janet Ching, Director of Football Programming

Mr. Goodell,

Regarding the NFL’s recent rules crackdown on certain types of hits, the legal department at ESPN has asked me to get clarification as to whether or not you would like us to 1) continue our “Blowed Up!” segment in which we feature particularly violent hits from that week’s NFL games or 2) stop using hits in highlight packages that are violative of the NFL’s rules.

Sincerely,

Janet Ching

Roger Goodell Commission, National Football League

Roger Goodell National Football League 765 Fifth Avenue, Suite 8765 New York, NY 10067

TO: Players and Coaches FROM: Commissioner’s Office RE: Late Hits Clarified DATE: September 1, 2015

Dear Janet Ching,

I have received your letter. It is the official position of the National Football League that we want players to stop certain dangerous behaviors, and we shall punish them accordingly. However, the league also recognizes that hard hits (even ones that violate the rules or cause injury) are a powerful draw for fans. As such, we would prefer for ESPN to continue its “Blowed Up!” segment on its highlight shows. In addition, the league encourages ESPN to focus attention on the game’s physicality, and ESPN need not pay any attention to whether or not particular plays violate NFL rules.

We value our partnership with ESPN and the Disney family of networks, and we hope to continue this fruitful and highly profitable relationship. I think that we understand each other when I say that the NFL sells violence, and we should not seek to change this.

Regards,

Commissioner Roger Goodell

Provisions from Standard NFL Contracts: [Every NFL player contract includes these provisions]

Section 8, Part 7

“Player recognizes that inherent in the game of football are certain risks to health and life. Players may get injured, incur serious life-altering negative health effects, or even die as a result of play on the field. The Player consents to the contact inherent in the game of football, and agrees that neither the National Football League, any Club involved, nor any other player shall be legally liable in any sense for conduct associated with the game of football that results in injury, disability or death of a Player.”

Section 9, Part 6

“Players recognize that the National Football League shall have the right to use players and their likenesses for promotions or any activity reasonably expected to increase the visibility, profitability or health of the National Football League or its constituent clubs.”