KIRKLAND, Wash. (KING5)-- We asked local sports lawyer Scott Weitz about Marshawn Lynch, Tom Brady, deflate-gate, crotch-gate, and quiet-gate. Weitz is a lawyer at 206 Sports Marketing in Kirkland.
Q. What's your legal perspective on deflate-gate?
A. I think people are probably making a bigger deal out of it from a legal stand point. The NFL makes its own rules and enforces its own rules. This is not a criminal or civil matter, even if someone comes forward and confesses.
Q. How did Tom Brady perform during his live press conference with reporters?
A. I'd love to have a body language specialize be able to see some cues, to tell if they think he's telling the truth or not. He did everything I thought he'd do, which is deny everything and put the burden of proof on the NFL.
Q. Did you see Marshawn Lynch grab his crotch on Sunday?
A. I did see it. Marshawn's Marshawn. He's a little eccentric in his own way. I think it's amusing.
Q. Why can the NFL be so quick to fine Marshawn, but so slow to finish its deflate-gate investigation?
A. A lot of it comes down to proof. Millions of people saw Marshawn do that on national TV. Nobody really saw the balls being deflated, if they were deflated. There's just no proof that we know of so far.
Q. What do you think about Marshawn's fines for not speaking to the media?
A. Marshawn's an interesting story. As a Seattle guy, I side with Marshawn. I personally don't think he should have to get up and talk if he doesn't want to. But I also see it from NFL's standpoint. They don't want to create this slippery slope. If we allow Marshawn not to talk and no negative ramifications. Russell's great in front of a camera, but what if he doesn't want to talk one day. Next thing you know, nobody in the league wants to talk after a game. It hurts the brand and hurts the product.
