Tom Brady, Patriots get hammered by NFL in deflate-gate punishment

Steve Williams

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By Frank Schwab Yahoo Sports

The NFL took deflate-gate very seriously, hammering the New England Patriots with unheard of punishment in the matter of deflated footballs.

The league announced Monday that quarterback Tom Brady was suspended four games, the team was fined $1 million and will lose its 2016 first-round draft pick and a fourth-round pick in 2017. The league has been considering punishment since the release of investigator Ted Wells' report on Thursday.

That's a huge punishment considering there was no evidence Brady was directly involved and the Wells Report said Patriots ownership and coach Bill Belichick weren't involved. The league said the punishment was for violating playing rules and not cooperating fully in the investigation.

Brady plans to appeal the decision. His agent, Don Yee, said in a statement, via Fox Sports' Mike Garafolo: "The discipline is ridiculous and has no legitimate basis. In my opinion, this outcome was pre-determined; there was no fairness in the Wells investigation whatsoever. ...

"The NFL has a well-documented history of making poor disciplinary decisions that often are overturned when truly independent and neutral judges or arbitrators preside, and a former federal judge has found the commissioner has abused his discretion in the past, so this outcome does not surprise me."

In the release, the NFL said Patriots employees John Jastremski and James McNally have been indefinitely suspended without pay by the club, effective May 6. They aren't allowed to be reinstated without the NFL's permission. If they are reinstated, the NFL said "Jastremski is prohibited from having any role in the preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs to be used in NFL games during the 2015 season. McNally is barred from serving as a locker room attendant for the game officials, or having any involvement with the preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs or any other equipment on game day."

In Wells' report, it states "it is more probable than not that Tom Brady (the quarterback for the Patriots) was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of McNally and Jastremski involving the release of air from Patriots game balls."

Jim McNally is the officials locker room attendant who took the game balls to the field, and stopped in a locked side bathroom for a minute and 40 seconds with the balls inside. Jastremski is the Patriots' assistant equipment man who prepared the game balls. The two texted about Brady's preference over the air pressure. Brady has said his preference was to have it at the low end of the rule, which is 12.5 psi.


The issue came about after the AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts, who told the league the day before the game that they had concerns about the air pressure in the Patriots' game balls, intercepted a Brady pass in the first half and examined it on the sideline. They told the league, and league officials re-inspected the game balls at halftime and found they were under the minimum allowed by league rules.


Brady denied any wrongdoing in January, during a long news conference. During it, he said, "I have no knowledge of anything." A little more than a week later at the Super Bowl, he had one of the great performances of all time, bringing the Patriots back in a nearly-perfect fourth quarter to knock off the Seattle Seahawks. It was his fourth Super Bowl title. He was named Super Bowl MVP.

The issue with punishing Brady is it is all based on conjecture. There's not even really circumstantial evidence; there's really no evidence of Brady's direct participation in any scheme put forth in Wells' report. The report implicates Brady basically because it says he had to have known, not because they had any proof that he did know or stated to either McNally or Jastremski that he wanted balls deflated after inspection. The report simply doesn't find him guilty.

NFL vice president of football operations Troy Vincent sent a heavy-handed letter to Brady.

"Your actions as set forth in the report clearly constitute conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the game of professional football," Vincent said within the letter.

The Patriots were punished harshly in the videotaping controversy of 2007. The team was fined $250,000 and stripped of a first-round pick, and coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000.
 

Mike Lavigne

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He will come back on game five and start the road back for yet another Patriots Super Bowl championship...that is my early prediction.

I think he first has to worry about beating the Colts in game 5 starting on the road with the whole 'non-New England' world hoping he falls on his arse. if he can turn it around and make the playoffs with an improved Buffalo and Miami then more power to him.

last year it took Brady a few games to get going, and he had Revis and an excellent secondary and Luck had his issues with those guys. Luck has many more weapons, and the Pats are less capable to stop him.
 

FrantzM

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I think he first has to worry about beating the Colts in game 5 starting on the road with the whole 'non-New England' world hoping he falls on his arse. if he can turn it around and make the playoffs with an improved Buffalo and Miami then more power to him.

last year it took Brady a few games to get going, and he had Revis and an excellent secondary and Luck had his issues with those guys. Luck has many more weapons, and the Pats are less capable to stop him.

It is the Patriots we are talking about .. They are never "less capable" only different year to year with a few constants: Tom Brady and Bill (Darth Vader) Belichik. They are always good to begin with and they will, if the opportunity presents itself extend to the breaking points the rules and often beyond ... When Tom retires then we will see but for now when you play the Pats, you worry..
 

Mike Lavigne

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since Brady refused to hand over any phone or text records, hard to see how any appeal would be given.

agree.

right now i'm guessing Brady is looking thru his texts on his phone trying to find rationalizations for them. if he can he might appeal. if he can't he will fold his tent and accept his fate. there are things worse than missing 4 games.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
agree.

right now i'm guessing Brady is looking thru his texts on his phone trying to find rationalizations for them. if he can he might appeal. if he can't he will fold his tent and accept his fate. there are things worse than missing 4 games.

It's also the 4-6 million dollars he loses. However his wife was the top earning fashion model last year at $45M
 

rockitman

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I think he first has to worry about beating the Colts in game 5 starting on the road with the whole 'non-New England' world hoping he falls on his arse. if he can turn it around and make the playoffs with an improved Buffalo and Miami then more power to him.

last year it took Brady a few games to get going, and he had Revis and an excellent secondary and Luck had his issues with those guys. Luck has many more weapons, and the Pats are less capable to stop him.

actually I think that is game six...they have a bye for game 5.
 

rblnr

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I'm a U of M guy and a fan, but am now pretty disgusted between Brady and the videotaping scandal. Sports are based on playing by the rules.
 

Frank750

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Not the money, not the games, it's the hit to Brady's integrity and his legacy that hurts the most. And it was the Players Association who pleaded with him to not set a precedent and turn over his phone to the NFL. He complied.

I think it's an absolute disgrace what Roger Goodell has done to Brady over this ridiculous issue. And please don't give me the integrity of the game BS. Read the Wells report. It's a joke. No proof, pure conjecture and his major revelation is his interpretation of 2 locker room dolts text messages to one another.
 

Hi-FiGuy

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I always assumed like in F1 and Nascar and distribution of tires that the governing body handed out the game balls, if not, it is a simple solution to the problem.

Sure going to make for some good TV ratings next season eh!
 

KeithR

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Not the money, not the games, it's the hit to Brady's integrity and his legacy that hurts the most. And it was the Players Association who pleaded with him to not set a precedent and turn over his phone to the NFL. He complied.

I think it's an absolute disgrace what Roger Goodell has done to Brady over this ridiculous issue. And please don't give me the integrity of the game BS. Read the Wells report. It's a joke. No proof, pure conjecture and his major revelation is his interpretation of 2 locker room dolts text messages to one another.

the assistant guy called himself the deflator. they took bribes (which why would those be necessary if what they did was legal). the commission found that the balls were deflated AFTER officials signed off for the AFC champ game. how is that not a major rules violation? if Brady had problems with the PSI rule, take it up with the rules committee but don't bend them for your benefit. look at Warren Sharps/Nate Silvers analysis of Pats fumble history after 2007 when the PSI rule was changed by Manning and Brady. i can't wait to see the Pats fumble rate this year if it reverts to league average.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
By Jay Busbee, Yahoo Sports

The NFL Players' Association has formally appealed NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's suspension of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the ongoing deflate-gate saga.

"Given the NFL's history of inconsistency and arbitrary decisions in disciplinary matters," the association said in a statement, "it is only fair that a neutral arbitrator hear this appeal."

The NFLPA then took the argument directly to the NFL, saying that if the league and investigator Ted Wells believe "that the evidence in their report is 'direct' and 'inculpatory,' then they should be confident enough to present their case before someone who is truly independent."

The "independent" line is a direct shot at investigator Ted Wells, whom the NFL hired as an "independent" investigator but nonetheless drew criticism for his report castigating Brady and several Patriots employees. The Patriots prepared a 20,000-word report specifically denying the allegations in Wells' report.

In what Brady supporters can only hope is not a metaphor, the NFLPA's website crashed shortly after the publication of the release at about 3:45 p.m. ET on Thursday.
 

Ronm1

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the response is funny as well. the deflator now all of a sudden refers to McNally losing weight. lmao.

That did crack me up.
Kinda like Ted speak, plausibly possibly independent. The report has its chuckles as well. [Sarcasm]Which gauge did you use? I'm quite sure it was this one Ted. No it's more possibly plausible you used the one that has the footballs reading less or the Colt footballs are starting to read low, damn I think we are out of time as coffee is now ready[/sarcasm]
 

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