New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's four-game
suspension for the "Deflategate" scandal has been upheld, the NFL
announced on Tuesday.
The decision, handed down by commissioner Roger Goodell, could
further ignite one of the most dramatic chapters in recent NFL
history. Brady is expected to take the matter to the courts but
didn't comment on Tuesday.
Goodell's report, released on Tuesday, pointed to Brady
allegedly instructing an assistant to destroy his cellphone after
meeting with NFL-appointed investigator Ted Wells. Brady told the
NFL that destroying a phone he was no longer using was his ordinary
practice.
"Mr. Brady denies having been involved in the scheme to deflate
the footballs," Goodell writes. "But in considering the entire
record, including Mr. Brady's testimony, the credibility of other
witnesses and the documentary evidence, I cannot credit this
denial."
Following a league-commissioned investigation, the NFL suspended
Brady in May for his involvement in the usage of underinflated
footballs in the Patriots' AFC Championship Game victory in
January. An underinflated football could provide a competitive
advantage to a quarterback by giving him a better grip on the ball.
Brady, who denied wrongdoing, appealed the decision.
Goodell refused the NFL Players Association's request to recuse
himself from the appeal, saying he wanted to "look Brady in the
eye" and find out any new information. Goodell had previously
appointed an arbitrator in high-profile discipline cases, such as
former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice's appeal of an
indefinite suspension for a domestic-violence incident. Rice's
suspension was overturned.
With the appeal process completed, Brady would have to go to
federal court to further contest the suspension. It isn't
immediately clear if he will do so.
Besides suspending Brady, the NFL in May docked the Patriots a
2016 first-round draft pick and a 2017 fourth-round one, and
imposed a $1 million fine. Patriots owner Robert Kraft, while
saying he was displeased with the initial suspension and the loss
of draft picks, said he wouldn't fight the team's penalty.
The investigation, conducted by Wells, was released in May and
has dominated the NFL's off-season headlines since. The report
detailed text messages between Patriot employees—locker-room
attendant Jim McNally and equipment assistant John
Jastremski—discussing what appeared to be deflating footballs. The
report concluded that Brady was "at least generally aware" of the
alleged wrongdoing.
The NFL report said, "The available electronic evidence, coupled
with information compiled in the investigators' interviews, leads
me to conclude that Mr. Brady knew about, approved of, consented
to, and provided inducements and rewards in support of a scheme by
which, with Mr. Jastremski's support, Mr. McNally tampered with the
game balls."
The discipline has been a rare blemish on Brady, who won his
fourth Super Bowl in February. Considered one of the best players
in NFL history, Brady, 37, has benefited from a squeaky-clean image
on and off the field.
Without Brady, the Patriots will likely turn to second-year
quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo as their temporary starter. Garoppolo
has never started an NFL game.
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