Posted on 07/28/2015 12:04:42 PM PDT by FewsOrange
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's four-game suspension for his role in using underinflated footballs during the AFC Championship Game was upheld by commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday.
In making the announcement, Goodell cited new evidence that Brady willfully obstructed the investigation by destroying his phone on or about June 23, the day of the appeals hearing between Brady and investigators.
Based on Ted Wells' report and the evidence presented at that hearing, Goodell concluded in his decision that Brady was aware of, and took steps to support, the actions of other team employees to deflate game footballs below the levels called for by NFL rules. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.go.com ...
Jim Gray just said on Hannity that the last time the NFL asked for a cell phone it was Bret Favre’s for sending pictures of his privates to a former cheerleader. Favre refused and was fined $50,000.
Brady proved beyond any shadow of doubt that he plays great with legally inflated balls. He had no reason to underinflate them.
My theory is that he has trouble with overinflated balls, and that he told the equipment guys to make sure they weren’t overinflated. Technically against the rules, but considering how sloppy the NFL is with verifying pressure I can understand it.
Supposedly he had a terrible game against the Jets and the balls were found to be overinflated.
Here’s someone with the same theory:
http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/ex-nfl-qb-alleges-refs-routinely-overinflate-footballs
Familiarize yourself with the Ideal Gas Law and get back to me.
Tom Brady rips the NFL’s Deflategate decision on his Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/TomBrady
Roger Craft just lambasted the backstabbing Roger Goodell on national TV. Look for the worthless commissioner to be out of a job very soon.
Bob Kraft just said he regrets accepting the punishment earlier this year, but that might be all talk. He hasn’t forfeited the right to still take legal action against the NFL so let’s see if he does.
Did you see the latest from Kraft? http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/13336829/robert-kraft-calls-tom-brady-four-game-suspension-unfathomable-apologizes-new-england-patriots-fans-accepting-league-penalties
“Wrong to put my faith in the league” “first and foremost I must apologize to the fans... make it easier to exonerate Brady”.
Very clearly he thought he was taking the bullet to get this over with without suspension. And I’m not a homer. I’m a Steeler fan, I’ve always been hoping Brady would be out at least 1 game.
Plenty has been said about the other employees and the serious overreach of the league suspending them, people not covered by any of the CBAs. But that’s old news, partly because they’re not covered by the CBAs and therefore have no appeal process. Luckily for them since they’re not covered by any CBA Kraft can go ahead and pay them and there’s nothing the league can say about it.
I saw Kraft speech this morning. Don’t you agree that if he really feels he was wronged by the NFL, that he should now seek legal action against them, or is he just taking this hard line now because he knew Pat fans hated him for capitulating earlier this year?
Kraft has a better answer than legal, he’s one of the most powerful owners in the league, and has been one of Goodell’s biggest backers. Short game wise i still think his goal of getting this in the past is the right move. Suing keeps deflategate alive for years possibly. The league has mishandled this from the start, and every day it makes news is another day in the dumb.
Now it’s about his reputation and I think Brady wins in court.
The “experts” on ESPN keep saying he should admitted guilt when it first happened. Well if you have no guilt to admit how in the hell do you admit it?
*******************
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 6 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.
I also disagree with yesterdays narrative surrounding my cellphone. I replaced my broken Samsung phone with a new iPhone 6 AFTER my attorneys made it clear to the NFL that my actual phone device would not be subjected to investigation under ANY circumstances. As a member of a union, I was under no obligation to set a new precedent going forward, nor was I made aware at any time during Mr. Wells investigation, that failing to subject my cell phone to investigation would result in ANY discipline.
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.
To try and reconcile the record and fully cooperate with the investigation after I was disciplined in May, we turned over detailed pages of cell phone records and all of the emails that Mr. Wells requested. We even contacted the phone company to see if there was any possible way we could retrieve any/all of the actual text messages from my old phone. In short, we exhausted every possibility to give the NFL everything we could and offered to go thru the identity for every text and phone call during the relevant time. Regardless, the NFL knows that Mr. Wells already had ALL relevant communications with Patriots personnel that either Mr. Wells saw or that I was questioned about in my appeal hearing. There is no “smoking gun” and this controversy is manufactured to distract from the fact they have zero evidence of wrongdoing.
I authorized the NFLPA to make a settlement offer to the NFL so that we could avoid going to court and put this inconsequential issue behind us as we move forward into this season. The discipline was upheld without any counter offer. I respect the Commissioners authority, but he also has to respect the CBA and my rights as a private citizen. I will not allow my unfair discipline to become a precedent for other NFL players without a fight.
Lastly, I am overwhelmed and humbled by the support of family, friends and our fans who have supported me since the false accusations were made after the AFC Championship game. I look forward to the opportunity to resume playing with my teammates and winning more games for the New England Patriots.
On the other hand, Article 46 (page 204) does not seem to limit the commissioner in any way in terms of coming to a decision. Those limitations need to have been negotiated and agreed upon. Nice job by the union. /s
ESPN had their legal analyst on PTI yesterday and they asked him about that. He brought up an interesting point. 99% of the players never get in any trouble with league rules and never face any sanctions from the Commish, subsequently 99% of the players don’t give a damn what kind of punishment power he has.
RE: Don’t you agree that if he really feels he was wronged by the NFL, that he should now seek legal action against them..
As a “member” of the league, teams are not allowed to take legal action against the league to include the commissioner. In other words, you give up your rights at the door as a condition of league membership.
RE: Why would ANY court agree to hear the case?
Because of the union and the collective bargaining agreement, a union suit will always be hear by a court because they will claim unfair labor practice.
Having said that:
In every organization there are two types of people, talent and administration. Tom Brady is major talent and roger goodell is not talented by any definition.
Let’s examine goodells decision making skills.
I’ve read that the referees in the Patriot Colt game (in question) measured 4 of the Colts footballs and found 3 of them under inflated. Well that would be a push for me, throw the whole load of B.S. out. But goodell? No of course not, he went and spent how much on the investigation?
When asked about his compensation, Wells said that the NFL was billed by the hour and that "no question it's in the millions of dollars."
To me that’s money laundering and goodell’s behavior should be audited. by the owners lawyers.
Integrity of the game
Question: Where was goodell when the Seattle Seahawks were getting hosed by the referees in their super bowl loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Answer: in the nfl’s front office
I know what the ideal gas law is.
Read this report. It explains what really happened and why the Wells Report is wrong in its assumptions and its analysis.
http://www.aei.org/publication/on-wells-report/
Brady and Kraft’s defiance is either incredibly smart or incredibly stupid.
Which, oddly enough, is a condition that has NOT held up in court multiple times, sometimes even without the name Al Davis attached.
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