So, the big question is, will the punishment stick? Or will the punishments be reduced or eliminated. (Check out the prior post.)
Kraft and Brady dispute the findings
Robert Kraft is not accepting the findings or the punishment. He is coming out swinging. He released a statement saying the Patriots hadn’t tampered with any footballs. He said that they were prepared to accept whatever the league decided was reasonable. But he said that they felt what the league chose to do was completely unreasonable and they didn’t want to accept the league’s decision afterall. And, oh by the way, Brady is a good guy and is being unfairly dumped on.
He said everything was circumstantial evidence and that the report was one-sided and that it ignored science in the form of Boyle’s Ideal Gas Law that the Patriots had presented.
Brady and the NFL Players’ Association are challenging commissioner Roger Goodell’s right to hear the appeal. They feel there should be a neutral third party arbitrator. This could be a major change in how things are done in the NFL going forward if they get their way.
Ted Wells, who did the 243 page report on the Patriots for the NFL blasted Brady’s agent and others. He said the owner, Robert Kraft had been happy when he was appointed because he felt Wells was fair. Brady’s agent said the NFL had influenced Wells, which incensed him. He said that the Patriots complained to him that they were caught in a sting operation. He investigated that and found that not to be the case. He said Brady’s agent was just complaining now because he didn’t like the punishment.
Brady and his agent have said that they were forthcoming. Wells said that they were up until when he asked to see the text messages on Brady’s phone. Wells gave them the option of scrolling through and showing him only the ones that were relevant to the investigation, trusting them to do so. They refused.
He also said he felt that it was proven that the Patriots had deflated balls on purpose. The only reason he used the words “more probably than not” was that those were the words specified to be used in the NFL rules. He also commented on the accusations that the NFL was out to get Tom Brady. He said why would the league want to go after the most popular player in the league, one who could be considered the face of the NFL?