Report: Tom Brady testifies under oath at Deflategate appeal hearing

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's testimony at his appeal hearing on Tuesday is “under oath.”

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's testimony at his appeal hearing on Tuesday is “under oath,” ESPN's Adam Schefter reports.

Brady is in New York on Tuesday to appeal the four-game suspension handed down by the NFL for his role in the Deflategate scandal. 

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will hear Brady's appeal, despite the NFLPA's request that Goodell recuse himself from the proceedings. The union had argued that Goodell was not a neutral arbitrator. 

Goodell suspended Brady for four games after a report by investigator Ted Wells commissioned by the NFL found it probable that Brady “was at least generally aware of... the release of air from Patriots game balls.”

• McCANN: The legal arguments Tom Brady may deploy in his appeal

Sports Illustrated legal analyst Michael McCann explained that Brady can be put under oath even though the appeal hearing is not being conducted in a court of law. 

Tom Brady testifying under oath means he's putting his actual freedom on the line in arguing the NFL got it wrong. https://t.co/WgHt0PR7u7

— Michael McCann (@McCannSportsLaw) June 23, 2015

Sworn testimony can be part of arbitration hearings if the parties agree. Goodell testified in Ray Rice's hearing. https://t.co/4T59ahJoyE

— Michael McCann (@McCannSportsLaw) June 23, 2015

- Dan Gartland