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'Deflategate' could spill over to a new season as Tom Brady promises to persist with appeal
Updated at 17.45
TOM BRADY HAS finally broken his silence over the NFL’s decision to to uphold his client’s four-game suspension for his role in Deflategate.
The four-time Super Bowl winning New England Patriots quarterback took to his Facebook page to express his disappointment with the decision.
In the lengthy statement, Brady says:
“I am very disappointed by the NFL’s decision to uphold the 4 game suspension against me. I did nothing wrong, and no one in the Patriots organization did either.
“Despite submitting to hours of testimony over the past six months, it is disappointing that the Commissioner upheld my suspension based upon a standard that it was “probable” that I was “generally aware” of misconduct. The fact is that neither I, nor any equipment person, did anything of which we have been accused. He dismissed my hours of testimony and it is disappointing that he found it unreliable.”
It continues:
“Most importantly, I have never written, texted, emailed to anybody at anytime, anything related to football air pressure before this issue was raised at the AFC Championship game in January. To suggest that I destroyed a phone to avoid giving the NFL information it requested is completely wrong.
Earlier, Don Yee, has issued a fiery response to the NFL’s decision
“The appeal process was a sham, resulting in the Commissioner rubber-stamping his own decision,” he said.
Regarding the new revelation that Brady had his cellphone destroyed around the day he was scheduled to meet with NFL investigators, Yee said Brady was fully cooperative.
“Tom was completely transparent. All of the electronic information was ignored; we don’t know why,” he wrote.
The extent to which Tom opened up his private life to the Commissioner will become clear in the coming days.”
That sounds like more details will come from Brady’s camp this week. Either way, the NFL Players Association is expected to bring the case to federal court.
Here’s his full statement (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter):
- Additional reporting Tony Manfred, Business Insider
Tom Brady’s suspension was just upheld by the NFL
The NFL explains in one paragraph why Tom Brady destroying his mobile phone was so damning to his case
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American Football appeal Deflategate NFL no smoking gun Tom Brady US sports