Ask anyone, scandals can make careers or crush reputations.

Sometimes they are true, sometimes they are not.

But that won't stop people from embracing the scandal that comes to our world-famous athletes.

Peyton Manning recently found himself in the middle of a scandal himself, when it was reported that he was using performance-enhancing drugs to help him return from his career-threatening neck injury in 2011.

He denied the allegations and that was that. Game over.

There was speculation for about a day, and then the conversation was over.

Now Manning, who just won back his starting position for the postseason, is back to being the beloved poster quarterback, with no HGH talk in sight.

What?

It wasn't too long ago that the world was up in arms over Tom Brady and his alleged involvement in Deflategate in last season's playoffs.

And that still hasn't died down.

Watching New England Patriots games this season, the term “Deflategate” was the most popular word out of announcers' mouths. Deflategate will follow the Patriots until the team and Brady himself goes to the grave.

So why is that Peyton Manning's alleged indiscretion getting swept under the rug, while Tom Brady's accusations are being aired out every day?

“It's different,” people say.

Whether true or not, both accusations involved cheating.

“Peyton Manning has a perfect track record,” they say.

But so did Tom Brady.

Is there any reason that these two situations should be treated differently?

For Brady, there was endless coverage about his alleged involvement in the scandal.

Manning denied the usage and moved on with his life, allowing him to focus on helping his team get the no. 1 seed going into the playoffs.

Brady didn't have that luxury, as he had to go into the Super Bowl with the world accusing him of deliberately cheating.

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Sports news affiliates immediately back up Manning's claims that he did not cheat, but automatically denied Brady that same right when he insisted he had no role in Deflategate.

Commissioner Roger Goodell hasn't even made a statement about the Al-Jazeera report and its content.

Practically the second Brady claimed his innocence, Goodell launched an investigation into the matter.

The way the NFL is handling this latest scandal is a complete slap in the face to New England.

Think about it: These are two elite quarterbacks who have shattered career records and helped build winning franchises.

So why should one elite quarterback be put through the ringer when the other gets off unscathed?

We get it, people don't like winners.

The Patriots are an organization that people love to hate because of their dominance and success.

People don't like Tom Brady, and these accusations about his involvement in Deflategate gave them a concrete reasoning behind the distaste for the quarterback.

But because people don't like winning franchises doesn't mean the Patriots should be subject to intense investigations, while Peyton Manning gets a free pass because people like him.

People think the big story is whether or not they cheated.

The problem is that the media is favoring one player over another.

The media and NFL put an asterisk next to Brady's name in the record books just by accusing him.

The media and NFL also took Manning's away just by covering up the story.

Brady and Manning are both well-respected quarterbacks who are bound for Canton.

But in the war of scandals, the Patriots got screwed over.