Zolak & Bertrand: Tampering, Like DeflateGate, Is No Big Deal
BOSTON (CBS) - During a December 29, 2014 press conference to announce the firings of coach Rex Ryan and general manager John Idzik, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson was asked about his team not being able to sign then-Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis last offseason.
The Jets owner said he didn't think he could get Revis back to New York based on his previous experience with the corner's agents, but he would love to have him back roaming the Jets defensive backfield once again.
"Darrelle's a great player," said Johnson. "I'd love to have Darrelle come back."
By the letter of the law, that's tampering, ladies and gentlemen. And on March 10, 2015, free agent Darrelle Revis signed back with the team that drafted him.
It's easy to draw conclusions based on the timeline of events, and Patriots fans can easily point to how things unfolded as clear and blatant tampering.
But 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand feel like you can only take that anger so far, because it's not that big of a deal.
"I would give this a giant 'Who cares?' Who cares? I like the fact the Patriots filed tampering charges against the Jets simply because it's the Jets. Like, screw you guys. Just to needle them. But who cares?" said Bertrand Wednesday morning.
Zolak feels the same way.
"I'm not going to sit here and tell you DeflateGate is not a big deal and then tell you that tampering is a big deal. Everybody talks. Tampering happens at the Combine. Tampering happens all throughout free agency. Agents are connected, they have friends. You have friends in the business. I'm not going to sit here and pound this. Tampering is not a big deal," Zolak concluded.
Listen below for the full conversation:
