Tom Brady Deflategate Suspension Upheld

Tom Brady will not see a reduction in his suspension and will not play pro football for the first month of the 2015 NFL season.

Despite an attempt at an appeal, the NFL announced today that the four-game suspension against the Patriots quarterback for his alleged role in Deflategate has been upheld by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

In his decision, Goodell called Brady destroying a cell phone requested by Ted Wells and his team the most significant information that emerged in the appeal.

According to the appeal decision, Brady instructed his assistant to destroy his cell phone while aware that Wells had requested information from that cellphone in connection with their investigation.

Despite repeated requests for that information, beginning in mid-February 2015 and continuing during his March 6, 2015 interview by the investigators, information indicating that Mr. Brady might have destroyed his cellphone in early March was not disclosed until months later, on June 18, 2014, and not confirmed until the day of the hearing itself.

In a statement, the New England Patriots said, “We are extremely disappointed in today’s ruling by Commissioner Goodell. We cannot comprehend the league’s position in this matter. Most would agree that the penalties levied originally were excessive and unprecedented, especially in light of the fact that the league has no hard evidence of wrongdoing. We continue to unequivocally believe in and support Tom Brady. We also believe that the laws of science continue to underscore the folly of this entire ordeal. Given all of this, it is incomprehensible as to why the league is attempting to destroy the reputation of one of its greatest players and representatives.”

Jim Trotter of ESPN is reporting that Brady has given the NFL Players’ Association permission to appeal his case in federal court.

After the AFC Championship game, the Patriots were accused of using deflated footballs en route to a win against the Indianapolis Colts. An investigation into the matter known as the Wells Report found that it was more probable than not that members of the team’s staff was deflating footballs and Brady was aware.

In addition to the Brady suspension, the Patriots were fined $1 million and were stripped of two draft picks.

This is the second major appeal decision for the NFL this month. The other one, a 10-game suspension to Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy in relation to his domestic abuse charges, was reduced to four earlier this month.

Click here to read the full decision.

Photo Credit: WHDH