Report: Tom Brady to be suspended for role in Deflategate
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will be suspended by commissioner Roger Goodell for his role in Deflategate, reports Gary Myers of the New York Daily News.
Myers reports that the decision is expected to be announced next week and that it's a matter of how many games the quarterback will be suspended.
The NFL released the report of independent investigator Ted Wells on Thursday, which found that "it is more probable than not that New England Patriots personnel participated in violations of the Playing Rules and were involved in a deliberate effort to circumvent the rules" and that it is probable that Brady "was at least generally aware of... the release of air from Patriots game balls."
• MMQB: Why is there even a rule about football inflation?
From Myers' report:
In conversations I've had with several key sources who always have a good sense of what goes on at 345 Park Avenue, there is little doubt Goodell considers Brady's role in Deflategate a serious violation.
The NFL is convinced, according to sources, that connecting all the dots of the evidence supplied by Wells leads to one conclusion: Brady cheated.
At a press conference in January, Brady said he "didn't alter the balls in any way" and "would never have someone do something that was outside the rules."
On Wednesday night, Brady said at a previously scheduled appearance that the Deflategate scandal did not "taint" the Patriots' Super Bowl XLIX victory.
• Then and now: What Brady said then vs. what Wells report says now
After the Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC championship game, there were accusations New England used footballs that were inflated below league requirements. The league confirmed that before the game, the balls were all tested and found to be of satisfactory inflation, and that the balls were all properly inflated for the second half and remained that way.
- Molly Geary
