The National Football League finally decided that Tom Brady should be penalized for using an underinflated football.

What a travesty!

It’s as if the criminals were the judges. Based on history, if anyone deserved to the punished it should be the entire NFL hierarchy for actions devoid of decency.

For decades the NFL, its commissioner, team owners, team doctors and coaches sent players back into the games after being sidelined for a play or two despite the players being injured.

But let the NFL discover that footballs were underinflated and a full-court press investigation is the result.

More recently the NFL, its commissioner and team owners thought nothing about turning their backs on fans who stood by the teams during good times and bad times by increasing ticket prices to levels that were unaffordable, except to the well-heeled.

But let the NFL discover that footballs were under inflated and a full-court press investigation is the result.

J’accuse the actions of the NFL, its commissioner and team owners of being guilty of being in the forefront of sullying sports.

In a way, “deflategate” is similar to the use of PEDs during baseball’s “steroid era.”

Many players used steroids (while the commissioner’s office looked the other way), but few players reached the goals set by Barry Bonds, A-Rod and other super stars.

The equation of how much use of PEDs adds to natural ability has not been proven, but we do know that if steroids made every baseball player who used them superstars the “steroid era” would have resulted in every player hitting 30-40 home runs and every pitcher winning 25 games each season.

Brady has never been accused of using PEDs to increase his efficiency. Does anyone really believe that if he had used overinflated footballs, instead of underinflated ones, he would be less than the stellar quarterback that he is?

If the amount of air in a football is that important to a quarterback’s efficiency a football game would have to be stopped after each play so officials could measure the amount of air in the ball.

This is not written as a defense of Tom Brady. Rules are rules, even those written by a league with a sullied history as the NFL, the league that took the word “sports” out of “sportsmanship.”

If the NFL is serious about cleansing the sport, they should provide mirrors to team owners, coaches, the commissioner, network executives and sponsors and have them ask what the wicked witch in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” asked: “Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?” And if the mirror didn’t have a financial association with the NFL the answer assuredly would be, “None of you.”

The one positive thing that might result from the NFL punishing Brady is several Saturday Night Live routines, because nothing could provide funnier material than the NFL playing “good cop.”

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Arthur Solomon, former senior VP at Burson-Marsteller, contributes to PR and sports business publications, consults on public relations projects and serves on the Seoul Peace Prize nominating committee. He can be reached at [email protected].