Vince McMahon in 1997: “Some would say I screwed Bret Hart. Bret Hart would definitely tell you I screwed him. I look at it from a different standpoint. I look at it from the standpoint of the referee did not screw Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels certainly did not screw Bret Hart, nor did Vince McMahon screw Bret Hart. I truly believe that Bret Hart screwed Bret Hart, and he can look in the mirror and know that.”

Fast forward to the year 2022, and with the big news this past week, many are saying the NFL screwed Stephen Ross while others are saying Brian Flores screwed Stephen Ross. But sometimes, you have to look within, and it is clear as day that Stephen Ross screwed Stephen Ross.

Ignorance is not a defense, and the excuse that every team in the NFL tampers is flimsy.

Stephen Ross broke the rules, Stephen Ross got caught, and Stephen Ross got punished. 

That’s it. That is the entire case.

Dolphins fans, Mr. Ross, and others want to play a game of “Whataboutism.”

But what about the Deshaun Watson penalty that was a slap on the wrist? Why is Miami’s punishment worse?

But what about the Patriots? They cheat, too; they don’t get punished ever. (although they did lose a 1st round draft pick for deflating footballs, so they do get punished for stuff)

But what about the fans? This punishment punishes the fans more than Mr. Ross, and that’s not fair.

STOP, STOP, STOP!

Stephen Ross broke the rules, Stephen Ross got caught, and Stephen Ross got punished. 

If all of your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?

Just because other teams may tamper and get away with it doesn’t mean that what Stephen Ross and the Miami Dolphins did wasn’t against the rules. And they got caught!

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IGNORANCE IS NOT A DEFENSE

Also, let’s stop with the “maybe he didn’t know the rules” as well.

Not knowing is not a defense.

If Mr. Ross didn’t know he was breaking the rules, then it’s on him to know the rules.

Not to mention it is beyond silly to assume Mr. Ross didn’t know talking to a player and coach under contract to another team was against the rules. 

YOU ARE ONLY GOING TO BE AS GOOD AS THE PEOPLE YOU SURROUND YOURSELF WITH

There is an old saying that you are only going to be as good as the people you surround yourself with.

Well, Mr. Ross was lacking in this category as well.

Bruce Beal Jr may be a close family friend and “like a son” to Mr. Ross, but he is also at the heart of this entire mess.

Beal’s close relationship with Brady seems to have been the first domino to fall that caused all of this.

If you surround yourself with clowns, don’t be surprised when next thing you know, you are standing in the middle of a circus.

STOP BLAMING BRIAN FLORES

I was not a fan of Brian Flores as a head coach. He constantly made terrible decisions.

I am happy Brian Flores is gone; with that said, in this situation, Miami got themselves in you can’t lay it at the feet of Brian Flores.

And while the claims by Coach Flores were found to be untrue by the NFL investigation, those claims led to the findings of tampering.

The NFL pretty much said we didn’t get you for “X” but we got you for “Y”. And that all came out of the Brian Flores claims and lawsuit.

Say what you want about Coach Flores and some of the “on the field” decisions he made, but he was right.

This owner tried to undermine him the entire time he was in Miami.

Talking about “tanking” and saying the atmosphere was about prioritizing the draft pick position more than winning.

No doubt that made Coach Flores uncomfortable.

Whether Ross was joking or not (and he was joking), saying that out loud created a poor culture. One where his current head coach at the time felt the need to document everything because he felt like his bosses were out to get him.

He felt like he was being set up to fail.

Then after winning 19 games over two seasons (which is damn good in this league, and in Miami, which has been bad forever even better), he was let go.

Even the most die-hard Dolphins fan with the homer glasses on has to admit, put yourself in the shoes of Brian Flores, and you probably would have done the same thing.

CONCLUSION

The NFL doesn’t have a vendetta against the Miami Dolphins.

Roger Goodell doesn’t want to punish other owners and strip organizations of draft picks.

The league doesn’t want to make headlines “this way” and look like they have an out-of-control situation in South Florida.

At the end of the day, Stephen Ross has nobody to blame but himself for the situation he put this franchise in.

Stephen Ross broke the rules, Stephen Ross got caught, and Stephen Ross got punished.Â