The ‘deflategate’ controversy came to a head Monday when the NFL dropped the hammer on Tom Brady and the Patriots for allegedly tampering with balls before playoff games this past season.
A private investigation produced a set of documents called ‘The Wells Report’ which supposedly proves it was “more probable than not” that Brady knew balls were deflated beneath the NFL’s legal requirement so that the quarterback could get a better grip on the ball, helping to lead the Patriots to another Super Bowl win.
So what’s the damage?
Tom Brady must sit the first four games of the season and the Patriots are being fined $1 million along with losing two draft picks (first-round pick next year and a fourth rounder in ’17). The two equipment staffers believed to have been responsible for the deflations are also indefinitely suspended.
In a statement released Monday night, Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft criticized the investigation on which the punishment was based and said Brady had the team’s “unconditional support” and that its “belief in him has not wavered.”
“Despite our conviction that there was no tampering with footballs, it was our intention to accept any discipline levied by the league,” Kraft said. “Today’s punishment, however, far exceeded any reasonable expectation. It was based completely on circumstantial rather than hard or conclusive evidence.
“We are humbled by the support the New England Patriots have received from our fans throughout the world,” the statement said. “We recognize our fans’ concerns regarding the NFL’s penalties and share in their disappointment in how this one-sided investigation was handled, as well as the dismissal of the scientific evidence supported by the Ideal Gas Law in the final report.”
Brady’s agent said he would appeal the suspension to commissioner Roger Goodell, which the quarterback has three days to do …
… Brady’s agent, Don Yee, said “the discipline is ridiculous and has no legitimate basis.”
“And if the hearing officer is completely independent and neutral, I am very confident the Wells report will be exposed as an incredibly frail exercise in fact-finding and logic,” Yee said in a statement.
Most of the games Brady will miss are very winnable: Sept. 10 against Pittsburgh, Week 2 at Buffalo, a home game against Jacksonville and then at Dallas. After a bye week in between, Brady will return to play Andrew Luck and the Colts in Week 6 in Indy.
2014 second-round pick Jimmy Garoppolo will fill-in for Brady while he chills with Giselle and the kids the first five Sundays of the season. The former standout has only thrown 27 NFL passes with one TD.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports.
Photo Credit: Getty
