Brady Responds
Tom Brady posted this on facebook this morning.
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.
he can fight for an injunction that will postpone the suspension until the case is settled in court. I think he's got a good chance of getting it if they can get the initial court procedings knocked out quick.
He's omitting a few things in this statement:
1) he did authorize a settlement offer, but that offer included the requirement that his testimony be sealed. Why? So nobody would find out what he REALLY had to say under oath? So, we're only supposed to believe the version of the story you post on Facebook, not the version you tell under oath?
2) yes, he destroyed the phone AFTER his attorneys told the NFL they would not be making any of its contents available, but BEFORE it would potentially be available for discovery in court, where they obviously knew this might head eventually (all caps his in the first instance).
3) he didn't say he never spoke to anyone about deflation before the AFC championship, he was careful to only say he never wrote, texted or emailed anyone. That's entirely consistent with someone who told someone to deflate a football but never put it in writing.
This is a pretty weak respose, easy to see through. Everyone involved on Brady's side and the NFL's knows that the issue of whether or not he was involved in deliberately deflating footballs is not going to be decided in court and is not the point now, it's whether or not Goodell abided by the terms of the CBA when he heard the appeal. The science of deflation is completely irrelevant at this point, as are the specific factual issues as to whether anyone in the organization participated in a scheme to deflate footballs. Arbitration holds a great deal of weight in court, even if a judge thinks an arbitrator didn't get the decision right.
Are you completely ignoring the whole part where Goodell listed the destroyed cell phone as a major factor in upholding the suspensino or just daftness? It doesn't matter one bit if he said anything in person, that is completely irrelevant to the cell phone matter and you know - sticking wtih things that can actually be proven in court. Brade worded his response that way because he was directly referring to the NFL's excessive and unlawful request (which went against the CBA) that he hand over his cell phone entirely AFTER he'd already turned over all the information they requested and they had full access to every message and phone call anyway.
Your point #2 is also a little incorrect, because they did make many of the contents available. They said they wouldn't be handing over the entire cell phone but had given Wells every single thing requested and then some. He then upgraded to a new phone and had the old one destroyd as I imagine the vast majority of celebrities do.
I was trying to restate what Brady said in point #2, so maybe I was a "little incorrect" since I didn't quote him, but the point stands. Now regarding the ridiculous issue of celebrities destroying cell phones, which is bullshit because Brady's old cell phone was not destroyed and was available for the investigation, those of us who access sensitive government or corporate data on our phones know what anyone advising someone like Brady knows, you don't hand it to someone to smash, you encrypt it. If it was a matter of his personal security routine he would have had it encrypted and would have had it wiped when he no longer wanted to use it. It's a bullshit story and I can't understand why you and others want so desperately to believe it that you can't see through it.
And I don't get at all what you're trying to say with regard to my 3rd point. It's so nonsensical it isn't worth picking apart, other than pointing out that Goodell's request was not "unlawful" (what law did he break? cite it), it actually does matter "in court" what he said "in person," it can be very relevant to any legal proceedings, and he obviously didn't turn over everything the NFL requested, that's just nonsense.
physical destruction is still more effective, especially compared to standard wiping procedures because the built in 'factory reset' options on most phones don't fully clear things any more than hitting deleting on a PC does. Data can be still be recovered by someone determined or skilled enough, but they'll have far less luck with a phone that has had its memory physically destroyed (my guess is Brady and people like him do both). I doubt many of them do any encrypting, though, just from the way it seems and with how often phones and accounts get hacked. So while what you're saying would make a little more sense, I am willing to bet it is far less common in practice and the point still stands that there are very legitimate and understandable reasons for someone like him to have a phone destroyed (in whatever manner they choose, wiping is no different) AFTER they've turned over EVERYTHING that was actually requested of them at the time.
Ok maybe unlawful wasn't the right term, but it violated the CBA terms and goes against NFLPA rules for him to make that request. He has no legal right to request it, and they didn't notify Brady of any punishment beforehand should he refuse to turn it over (as they would have had to). It was also unnecessary as there was nothing relevant on the phone they didn't already have. There were no legal proceedings at the time to factor in. And what's said "in person" only matters "in court" if it is verifiable in some way. Brady denies talking to the equipment managers about breaking the rules with ball inflation; they deny talking to Brady about it; there is no electronic evidence; there isn't even scientific evidence; there is no evidence at all that if it happened that Brady was knowledgeable or had any part of the deflating. Thus, what you think (with no basis or evidence at all) he said in person has no bearing whatsoever, and it especially doesn't matter when Brady is talking specifically about phone contents that Goodell wanted to see.
THAT Brady.
NBCSports has Robert Kraft's statement here - LINK
I have come to the conclusion that this was never about doing what was fair and just. Back in May, I had to make a difficult decision that I now regret. I tried to do what I thought was right. I chose not to take legal action. I wanted to return the focus to football.
Nice little dig in the opener of this quote, I thought. This is in a portion of the statement where he explains that the reason he did not take action then was in the hope that the appeal would illustrate the silliness of all this. I wouldn't expect Kraft to take another position than this, of course, but there are other shots within it that don't quite conceal genuine anger from how it reads.
I heard that stealing Mentos from the party store is a lifetime ban in Goodell's world too.
Everyone answers to someone. They will not care about the ball inflation, all they will care about is the CBA and prior precedence.
There's a lot of outrage in here...
Does anyone think 4 games really matters? Brady is still loaded, the Pats will still win the division, etc.
I could give a shit personally... the NFL is a punchline these days, the games are boring, the off-field stuff is deplorable, and there's definitely a leadership vacuum at all levels of the league. I watch a lot of CFB but Sundays I rarely catch a game anymore.
Just wondering if there would be the same kind of reaction if Brady wasn't a favorite son of Michigan.
No, the reaction wouldn't be the same. If it was Peyton, Kirk Cousins or a QB from OSU that didn't suck in the NFL, there would tons of LOLs directed toward the player.
It's cool. Brady is Michigan family, so you stick up for your family, right or wrong. The Patriots OTOH? I'm not from Boston, nor am I a Pats fan, so they can fine them all they want.
What an awesome, detailed response.
He should have ended it with: "/drops mic"
evidence of wrongdoing by Brady, he is getting a raw deal, particularly when compared to the other cases often referenced (Rice, etc.). No matter how one wants to intellectualize their argument, there is still no evidence, period.
If I am Brady, I want everyball that gets snapped back to me to be consistent. If he wanted the ball boy to deflate them, it would not be to some random PSI. He woudl want them all the same. Consistent PSI would be much more important for consistent performance than low but varied PSI... Possible that is why NE performed better in the 2nd half?
The first 4 weeks of NFL games, don't watch. I'm not going to.
Goddell and his non-profit. Such a philanthropist.
1. If you knew ahead of time that this was an issue and the integrity of the shield was at stake, you take a proactive approach and look into this prior to the game. (NFL will never let you look at those communications)
2. I'd be less inclined the trust the NFL with any personal information knowing how much gets leaked from the NFL office than those who insist that he should of just handed over the phone. Their history of protecting information is terrible.
3. Given that there is such a wide range of penalties involved in other much worse situations and that the NFL continues to botch those decisions, why would Brady want to cooperate with the investigation.