Magic Johnson won't watch the Patriots unless Tom Brady plays

No, Deflategate somehow still isn't over. Just on the off chance enough people haven't weighed in yet, NBA great Magic Johnson made his own take known Monday.

"I'm a Tom Brady fan. I don't want to see Tom Brady miss one game," Johnson told the Providence Journal. "If not, I'm not watching. I want to see Tom Brady and the New England Patriots."

For the blessedly unaware, the star quarterback has been suspended for four games for his alleged role in deflating footballs to help the Pats beat the Indianapolis Colts in 2015's AFC Championship en route to a Super Bowl victory. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell held up the suspension after an internal appeal, and the parties will sit down for a settlement conference in court Wednesday. Johnson doesn't believe deflated footballs would've given Brady & Co. an advantage.

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"One thing that people have to realize is that players have to play," Johnson said. "I don't care about videos, balls, they don't decide the game. It's players who decide the games. I don't care what anybody says. They went out there and won the game, point blank. They won the Super Bowl."

It's really heartening to see poor, marginalized world-class athletes sticking up for each other.