#DeflateGate (Court of Appeals Reinstates Suspension)

[D.o.s.]

What I'm guessing happened is that Goodell offered to reduce the suspension,, but Brady's camp said anything more than a fine would lead to a court show down. So rather than reduce the suspension and then lose in court, he decided to just uphold the suspension. Now Goodell can pretend he stuck to his guns and be absolved of blame if the court over turns the decision.

He's the ultimate pass the buck man.

Pretend that he stuck to his guns to whom, though.

[mahonedog88]

The statement from the league...

“On or shortly before March 6, the day that Tom Brady met with independent investigator Ted Wells and his colleagues, Brady directed that the cell phone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed,” the league statement read. “He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone. ?During the four months that the cell phone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device. The destruction of the cell phone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady.”


This is really hurts Brady in my opinion...again, what he actually did isn't that big of a deal in terms of on the field help in winning games, but the optics of this are NOT good for Brady.  For me this shows me that Brady had to choose the lesser of two evils...he obviously felt that getting heat for destroying his phone wouldn't be as bad as getting heat for what was actually on the phone

[Evantime34]

Did anyone else's twitter crash right after this news came out?

[BudweiserCeltic]

The statement from the league...

“On or shortly before March 6, the day that Tom Brady met with independent investigator Ted Wells and his colleagues, Brady directed that the cell phone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed,” the league statement read. “He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone. ?During the four months that the cell phone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device. The destruction of the cell phone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady.”


This is really hurts Brady in my opinion...again, what he actually did isn't that big of a deal in terms of on the field help in winning games, but the optics of this are NOT good for Brady.  For me this shows me that Brady had to choose the lesser of two evils...he obviously felt that getting heat for destroying his phone wouldn't be as bad as getting heat for what was actually on the phone

I'm not turning over my PRIVATE cell phone just so that some league investigator can take a peak at some selective messages.

Sorry, but I'd do the same whether I was guilty or not, doubly so if I was a celebrity / public figure.

We'll see them in Federal court, things should get interesting.

[LarBrd33]

The statement from the league...

“On or shortly before March 6, the day that Tom Brady met with independent investigator Ted Wells and his colleagues, Brady directed that the cell phone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed,” the league statement read. “He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone. ?During the four months that the cell phone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device. The destruction of the cell phone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady.”


This is really hurts Brady in my opinion...again, what he actually did isn't that big of a deal in terms of on the field help in winning games, but the optics of this are NOT good for Brady.  For me this shows me that Brady had to choose the lesser of two evils...he obviously felt that getting heat for destroying his phone wouldn't be as bad as getting heat for what was actually on the phone

I'm not turning over my PRIVATE cell phone just so that some league investigator can take a peak at some selective messages.

Sorry, but I'd do the same whether I was guilty or not, doubly so if I was a celebrity / public figure.

We'll see them in Federal court, things should get interesting.

Yeah... there's a number of reasons I'd destroy my cell phone rather than let it be analyzed by a third party.  None of these reasons are related to deflating footballs. 

[mahonedog88]

The statement from the league...

“On or shortly before March 6, the day that Tom Brady met with independent investigator Ted Wells and his colleagues, Brady directed that the cell phone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed,” the league statement read. “He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone. ?During the four months that the cell phone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device. The destruction of the cell phone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady.”


This is really hurts Brady in my opinion...again, what he actually did isn't that big of a deal in terms of on the field help in winning games, but the optics of this are NOT good for Brady.  For me this shows me that Brady had to choose the lesser of two evils...he obviously felt that getting heat for destroying his phone wouldn't be as bad as getting heat for what was actually on the phone

I'm not turning over my PRIVATE cell phone just so that some league investigator can take a peak at some selective messages.

Sorry, but I'd do the same whether I was guilty or not, doubly so if I was a celebrity / public figure.

We'll see them in Federal court, things should get interesting.

Listen, I'm as big of a Patriots fan as there is, but c'mon...how can anyone continue to think Brady isn't guilty here?  Regardless of whether or not his phone is private, he instructed someone to destroy it either on the day or just before the day that Ted Wells spoke to him.  It's one thing to not turn it over, but destroy it?...how can you not conclude from that that Brady is hiding something?

[mahonedog88]

The statement from the league...

“On or shortly before March 6, the day that Tom Brady met with independent investigator Ted Wells and his colleagues, Brady directed that the cell phone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed,” the league statement read. “He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone. ?During the four months that the cell phone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device. The destruction of the cell phone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady.”


This is really hurts Brady in my opinion...again, what he actually did isn't that big of a deal in terms of on the field help in winning games, but the optics of this are NOT good for Brady.  For me this shows me that Brady had to choose the lesser of two evils...he obviously felt that getting heat for destroying his phone wouldn't be as bad as getting heat for what was actually on the phone

I'm not turning over my PRIVATE cell phone just so that some league investigator can take a peak at some selective messages.

Sorry, but I'd do the same whether I was guilty or not, doubly so if I was a celebrity / public figure.

We'll see them in Federal court, things should get interesting.

Yeah... there's a number of reasons I'd destroy my cell phone rather than let it be analyzed by a third party.  None of these reasons are related to deflating footballs.

And people wonder why the country hates the vast vast majority of Patriots fans...denial isn't a good look.

[celticsclay]

The statement from the league...

“On or shortly before March 6, the day that Tom Brady met with independent investigator Ted Wells and his colleagues, Brady directed that the cell phone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed,” the league statement read. “He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone. ?During the four months that the cell phone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device. The destruction of the cell phone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady.”


This is really hurts Brady in my opinion...again, what he actually did isn't that big of a deal in terms of on the field help in winning games, but the optics of this are NOT good for Brady.  For me this shows me that Brady had to choose the lesser of two evils...he obviously felt that getting heat for destroying his phone wouldn't be as bad as getting heat for what was actually on the phone

I'm not turning over my PRIVATE cell phone just so that some league investigator can take a peak at some selective messages.

Sorry, but I'd do the same whether I was guilty or not, doubly so if I was a celebrity / public figure.

We'll see them in Federal court, things should get interesting.

Listen, I'm as big of a Patriots fan as there is, but c'mon...how can anyone continue to think Brady isn't guilty here?  Regardless of whether or not his phone is private, he instructed someone to destroy it either on the day or just before the day that Ted Wells spoke to him.  It's one thing to not turn it over, but destroy it?...how can you not conclude from that that Brady is hiding something?

I now fear he was involved with the aaron hernandez killings. Hernandez did the same thing right?

[Roy H.]

The statement from the league...

“On or shortly before March 6, the day that Tom Brady met with independent investigator Ted Wells and his colleagues, Brady directed that the cell phone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed,” the league statement read. “He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone. ?During the four months that the cell phone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device. The destruction of the cell phone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady.”


This is really hurts Brady in my opinion...again, what he actually did isn't that big of a deal in terms of on the field help in winning games, but the optics of this are NOT good for Brady.  For me this shows me that Brady had to choose the lesser of two evils...he obviously felt that getting heat for destroying his phone wouldn't be as bad as getting heat for what was actually on the phone

I'm not turning over my PRIVATE cell phone just so that some league investigator can take a peak at some selective messages.

Sorry, but I'd do the same whether I was guilty or not, doubly so if I was a celebrity / public figure.

We'll see them in Federal court, things should get interesting.

Yeah... there's a number of reasons I'd destroy my cell phone rather than let it be analyzed by a third party.  None of these reasons are related to deflating footballs.

The thing is, he wasn't asked to turn over his phone.  He was asked to have his lawyer provide printouts of text messages responsive to Wells' questions.  There's a huge privacy difference there.

[Cman]

Both Goodell and Brady have doubled down.

Reportedly, Brady destroyed his cell phone (or ordered someone to) rather than hand it over.

I can't even react to this since it is coming from the NFL who have a really serious transparency issue. I'm content to wait and see what comes of things via courts.

[BudweiserCeltic]

The statement from the league...

“On or shortly before March 6, the day that Tom Brady met with independent investigator Ted Wells and his colleagues, Brady directed that the cell phone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed,” the league statement read. “He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone. ?During the four months that the cell phone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device. The destruction of the cell phone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady.”


This is really hurts Brady in my opinion...again, what he actually did isn't that big of a deal in terms of on the field help in winning games, but the optics of this are NOT good for Brady.  For me this shows me that Brady had to choose the lesser of two evils...he obviously felt that getting heat for destroying his phone wouldn't be as bad as getting heat for what was actually on the phone

I'm not turning over my PRIVATE cell phone just so that some league investigator can take a peak at some selective messages.

Sorry, but I'd do the same whether I was guilty or not, doubly so if I was a celebrity / public figure.

We'll see them in Federal court, things should get interesting.

Listen, I'm as big of a Patriots fan as there is, but c'mon...how can anyone continue to think Brady isn't guilty here?  Regardless of whether or not his phone is private, he instructed someone to destroy it either on the day or just before the day that Ted Wells spoke to him.  It's one thing to not turn it over, but destroy it?...how can you not conclude from that that Brady is hiding something?

I'm not a Patriots fan, in fact I hate them, so this has nothing to do with fandom. ALSO, in which part of my post did I mention that Brady was innocent? I didn't. I don't care for it. I only care about handing out punishment by the league because someone didn't care to hand over a PRIVATE cell phone. That's the issue here.

[celticsclay]

The statement from the league...

“On or shortly before March 6, the day that Tom Brady met with independent investigator Ted Wells and his colleagues, Brady directed that the cell phone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed,” the league statement read. “He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone. ?During the four months that the cell phone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device. The destruction of the cell phone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady.”


This is really hurts Brady in my opinion...again, what he actually did isn't that big of a deal in terms of on the field help in winning games, but the optics of this are NOT good for Brady.  For me this shows me that Brady had to choose the lesser of two evils...he obviously felt that getting heat for destroying his phone wouldn't be as bad as getting heat for what was actually on the phone

I'm not turning over my PRIVATE cell phone just so that some league investigator can take a peak at some selective messages.

Sorry, but I'd do the same whether I was guilty or not, doubly so if I was a celebrity / public figure.

We'll see them in Federal court, things should get interesting.

Yeah... there's a number of reasons I'd destroy my cell phone rather than let it be analyzed by a third party.  None of these reasons are related to deflating footballs.

The thing is, he wasn't asked to turn over his phone.  He was asked to have his lawyer provide printouts of text messages responsive to Wells' questions.  There's a huge privacy difference there.

Unfortunately with all of this we don't know what really happened. Did Wells really even make that offer? It makes no sense to make that kind of offer. There has been so much misinformation on all sides of this that I don't know how we can accept any parts as truth. I hope it goes to court just so everything is in the open and clear. So sick of the leaks, reports, false information etc.

[mahonedog88]

The statement from the league...

“On or shortly before March 6, the day that Tom Brady met with independent investigator Ted Wells and his colleagues, Brady directed that the cell phone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed,” the league statement read. “He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone. ?During the four months that the cell phone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device. The destruction of the cell phone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady.”


This is really hurts Brady in my opinion...again, what he actually did isn't that big of a deal in terms of on the field help in winning games, but the optics of this are NOT good for Brady.  For me this shows me that Brady had to choose the lesser of two evils...he obviously felt that getting heat for destroying his phone wouldn't be as bad as getting heat for what was actually on the phone

I'm not turning over my PRIVATE cell phone just so that some league investigator can take a peak at some selective messages.

Sorry, but I'd do the same whether I was guilty or not, doubly so if I was a celebrity / public figure.

We'll see them in Federal court, things should get interesting.

Listen, I'm as big of a Patriots fan as there is, but c'mon...how can anyone continue to think Brady isn't guilty here?  Regardless of whether or not his phone is private, he instructed someone to destroy it either on the day or just before the day that Ted Wells spoke to him.  It's one thing to not turn it over, but destroy it?...how can you not conclude from that that Brady is hiding something?

I'm not a Patriots fan, in fact I hate them, so this has nothing to do with fandom. ALSO, in which part of my post did I mention that Brady was innocent? I didn't. I don't care for it. I only care about handing out punishment by the league because someone didn't care to hand over a PRIVATE cell phone. That's the issue here.

You keep saying private cell phone...HE WASN'T ASKED TO TURN OVER HIS PHONE.  He was asked to turn over individual texts that he felt related to the investigation

[BudweiserCeltic]

The statement from the league...

“On or shortly before March 6, the day that Tom Brady met with independent investigator Ted Wells and his colleagues, Brady directed that the cell phone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed,” the league statement read. “He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone. ?During the four months that the cell phone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device. The destruction of the cell phone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady.”


This is really hurts Brady in my opinion...again, what he actually did isn't that big of a deal in terms of on the field help in winning games, but the optics of this are NOT good for Brady.  For me this shows me that Brady had to choose the lesser of two evils...he obviously felt that getting heat for destroying his phone wouldn't be as bad as getting heat for what was actually on the phone

I'm not turning over my PRIVATE cell phone just so that some league investigator can take a peak at some selective messages.

Sorry, but I'd do the same whether I was guilty or not, doubly so if I was a celebrity / public figure.

We'll see them in Federal court, things should get interesting.

Yeah... there's a number of reasons I'd destroy my cell phone rather than let it be analyzed by a third party.  None of these reasons are related to deflating footballs.

The thing is, he wasn't asked to turn over his phone.  He was asked to have his lawyer provide printouts of text messages responsive to Wells' questions.  There's a huge privacy difference there.

That changes things a bit, but not all that much. Privacy is privacy, unless judge subpoena is in effect.

[mef730]

So is he being suspended for deflating the football or failing to cooperate with the NFL? Seems to me that the original suspension was for the alleged deflations, but RG's team decided that it would have too tough of a time proving that in court and is now shifting the argument to "he didn't play nicely in the sandbox with us."

Mike