Minor league baseball teams troll over Brady, Deflategate

Published 2:31 am Thursday, June 2, 2016

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) — Tom Brady is proving to be just as polarizing in minor league baseball as he is in the NFL.

As he fights his suspension for the scandal that has come to be known as “Deflategate,” the New England Patriots quarterback will be the subject of special promotions in two cities next week.

First, the Pawtucket Red Sox will hold a “Free Brady Night” on June 10 in which anyone named “Tom” or “Brady” will be admitted free. In response, the Buffalo Bisons are planning a “Keep Brady Suspended” night during a doubleheader the next day.

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Brady was suspended four games for what the NFL said was his role in a scheme to use improperly inflated footballs in the 2015 AFC Championship game. He avoided sitting out last year while the case went through federal court, but his appeals appear to be running out.

While New England fans remain intensely loyal, those elsewhere in the country are skeptical. In Buffalo, the home of the AFC East rival Bills, fans donating a “properly inflated” football at the Bisons game will be able to get two tickets for the price of one. The team is also accepting “un-destroyed cell phone donations” for Cell Phones for Soldiers.

The Bisons are also planning scoreboard videos “featuring some of sports’ greatest cheaters,” singling out New England coach Bill Belichick for a special tribute.

“If you are named ‘Tom’ or ‘Brady,’ you will be allowed entrance into Coca-Cola Field for ‘Keep Brady Suspended’ Night, but will not be allowed to watch the first four innings of game one of the doubleheader,” the Bisons said in a news release. “Please, no appeals.”