Jets' Antonio Cromartie: Goodell 'gonna make his own rules as he goes'

Even a New York Jet can sympathize with Tom Brady.

New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie came on ESPN on Thursday and said Brady should not be suspended for deflate-gate. A $25,000 fine would be sufficient according to Cromartie, via New York Newsday. That's not the most popular opinion. A lot of players — I'm sure they've all read the Wells report and Brady's testimony — have basically said Brady got what he deserved, if they've discussed it at all. Fellow Jet Darrelle Revis, a Patriot last year, went down that road.

Cromartie's specific take on Brady's punishment wasn't that important. His words on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell were, however.

"Nobody is safe," Cromartie said on ESPN, via Newsday. "No matter who you are, Roger will do what he wants to do. ... It don't matter what the rules say, he's gonna make his own rules as he goes."

That's a key point that many players who have criticized Brady don't get. If the NFL is willing to sell out their most popular player for some good PR or pandering to owners upset the Patriots keep beating them or whatever reason the NFL had to turn this into a fiasco, what chance do they have?

Players should be upset that Brady's legacy and reputation were damaged based on the whims of a commissioner whose "every single action, conclusion or determination was designed to find a path to that original belief of guilt," in the words of Yahoo's Dan Wetzel (who pointed out Goodell's missteps very well here.) Players should be nervous about the harsh actions of the NFL office on an issue (deflated footballs) that never mattered to the league before, with still no bit of evidence to tell us what Brady's role was in deflate-gate, if there was any.

The collective-bargaining agreement doesn't expire for a long time, and the union has rarely been able to stand firm and fight, in equal parts over not wanting to miss paychecks and public pressure that always falls back to the ridiculous assertion that players are just being greedy. But players should look at how Goodell treated Brady and others based on his absolute power in the CBA that the union didn't fight hard enough to take away. They need to understand that's just going to continue until they dig in.