Today's reactions from Patriots Owner Robert Kraft and QB Tom Brady come after a "stunning disclosure" from the NFL that was the basis for Brady's four-game suspension being upheld -- Commissioner Roger Goodell alleged that Brady’s "'very troubling' coverup effort involved instructing his assistant to destroy his cellphone less than 24 hours before" he was interviewed by league investigator Ted Wells, according to a front-page piece by Bob Hohler of the BOSTON GLOBE. Goodell said that Brady knew the NFL’s special investigator "sought evidence from his phone, which contained nearly 10,000 text messages in the previous four months, including the period of the alleged tampering." The NFLPA "downplayed the significance of Brady’s destroyed phone and asserted that he provided league officials all of the information they sought." The union stated, "The fact that the NFL would resort to basing a suspension on a smoke screen of irrelevant text messages instead of admitting that they have all of the phone records they asked for is a new low, even for them, but it does nothing to correct their errors" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/29).
GOODELL OUT FIRST: Goodell stated in his report, "I found that Mr. Brady had failed to cooperate with the investigation" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/29). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Kevin Clark notes the league's 20-page ruling "features Goodell dismissing a number of Brady arguments." Goodell said that the length of the suspension is four games because the "closest comparison is to a first offense for performance-enhancing drugs" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/29). Brady's agent Don Yee in a statement said, "The appeal process was a sham, resulting in the Commissioner rubber-stamping his own decision." He added, "The Commissioner’s decision and discipline has no precedent in all of NFL history" (ESPN.com, 7/28).
DEAL OR NO DEAL: ESPN BOSTON's Mike Reiss cited a league source as saying that the union during settlement talks "requested that the record of Brady's appeal be sealed so that, in the NFL's opinion, the information that Brady destroyed his cellphone would not become public." The NFL "declined to do so" (ESPNBOSTON.com, 7/28). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio cited a source as saying that the NFL was "willing to drop the suspension by 'at least 50 percent' if Brady: (1) admitted to having knowledge of whatever [Patriots assistant equipment manager] John Jastremski and [locker room attendant] Jim McNally were doing to the footballs; (2) admitted to failing to cooperate with the Ted Wells investigation; and (3) apologized." It is believed that Brady’s suspension "would have been dropped at least to two games, with the possibility of dropping it to one if he were sufficiently persuasive and profuse in his acceptance of guilt" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 7/28). THE MMQB's Peter King cited sources as saying that there was "never a deal that was close, and the NFL never responded to a union offer of July 17 to try to settle." NFLPA Assistant Exec Dir of External Affairs George Atallah said, "No substantive discussions were had about terms, other than the union’s initial outreach. I cannot be clearer on this." King notes the NFL, "minus a settlement," was not going to give Brady "any benefit, particularly after the cell-phone destruction." Goodell’s ruling "was more blunt than his original ruling in June" (MMQB.SI.com, 7/28).
MASTER MANIPULATORS? PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Florio wrote, "If nothing else, the NFL can (when it wants to) master the art of public relations." During Deflategate, the league "has done a great job of getting its messages out in a strong, clear way." The "coup de grace" came yesterday, when the league "leaked to ESPN that 'Brady destroyed his cell phone,' locking in the notion that something sinister -- and irreparable -- had occurred." Brady's agents "provided all of the phone numbers with which Brady exchanged text messages." His agents also said that the league "could attempt to get the actual text messages from the phones of the people with whom Brady communicated, but the league refused to attempt to try, claiming that it would be too hard to track down the various people and to persuade them to cooperate." The NFL "arguably opted not to track down the text messages" because the league "already had the silver bullet it needed to win convincingly in the court of public opinion." Florio: "Tom Brady destroyed his cell phone." It was "expertly leaked to ESPN by the same league office that had expertly leaked the 11-of-12 footballs falsehood to ESPN" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 7/28). Meanwhile, ESPN's Dan Graziano cited sources as saying that Goodell taking 35 days to determine Brady's appeal "was rooted in the NFL's viewpoint that its decision had to be designed, vetted and written to withstand a court challenge." ESPN Boston's Reiss wrote the delay therefore was "mostly about whether the league is comfortable in the legal presentation of the decision" (ESPN.com, 7/28). In Chicago, David Haugh writes Goodell upheld the suspension "loudly and clearly" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/29).
