Tom Brady released a statement on Wednesday morning addressing the NFL’s decision to uphold his four-game suspension. Sticking with the theme of the past six months, the New England Patriots quarterback claimed he is completely innocent.
“I am very disappointed by the NFL’s decision to uphold the 4 game suspension against me,” Brady began. “I did nothing wrong, and no one in the Patriots organization did either.”
Brady also noted that he disagrees with the narrative surrounding his cell phone. One of the main reasons Roger Goodell upheld the suspension was evidence indicating that Brady destroyed his personal phone on or around the day he was scheduled to be interviewed by Ted Wells. Brady claims he simply replaced a broken phone.
“I also disagree with yesterdays narrative surrounding my cellphone,” he wrote. “I replaced my broken Samsung phone with a new iPhone 6 AFTER my attorneys made it clear to the NFL that my actual phone device would not be subjected to investigation under ANY circumstances. As a member of a union, I was under no obligation to set a new precedent going forward, nor was I made aware at any time during Mr. Wells investigation, that failing to subject my cell phone to investigation would result in ANY discipline.
“Most importantly, I have never written, texted, emailed to anybody at anytime, anything related to football air pressure before this issue was raised at the AFC Championship game in January. To suggest that I destroyed a phone to avoid giving the NFL information it requested is completely wrong.”
During the appeal, Brady claims he and his legal team “exhausted every possibility” to turn over as many emails, text messages and relevant communications as possible. He called the controversy “manufactured” to distract from the fact that there is no actual evidence of wrongdoing.
There probably isn’t much Brady can say at this point to sway public opinion. But in order to stand a chance in federal court, he will have to prove that he didn’t intentionally destroy his phone to hide evidence. It’s hard to believe that his cell phone was coincidentally broken after you hear this piece information, but a federal judge may believe Brady or rule in his favor.
