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Wells Report concluded that the Patriots violated rules and Tom Brady was aware

Red Jazz Fan said:
KMA.
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NYKMA
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https://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/...ed-tom-brady-new-england-patriots-deflategate

NEW YORK -- The NFL has suspended Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady without pay for the first four games of the season, fined the New England Patriots $1 million and taken away two draft picks as punishment for deflating footballs used in the AFC title game, the league said in a statement Monday.

The NFL also indefinitely suspended the two equipment staffers believed to have carried out the plan, including one who called himself "The Deflator."

Brady will miss the season's showcase kickoff game Sept. 10 against Pittsburgh, Week 2 at Buffalo, a home game against Jacksonville and a game at Dallas.


No sugarcoating it: The NFL crushed owner Robert Kraft, quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots for deflating footballs before the AFC Championship Game against the Colts, Mike Reiss writes.



To say there will be no love lost between the Patriots and the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium the night of Oct. 18 would be an understatement, Mike Wells writes.

He will return the week the Patriots face the Colts in Indianapolis.

The Patriots will also lose a first-round pick in 2016 and a fourth-round pick in 2017.

Brady's agent said he would appeal the suspension to commissioner Roger Goodell, which the quarterback has three days to do.

Brady would be replaced by Jimmy Garoppolo, a 2014 second-round selection from Eastern Illinois who won the Walter Payton award as the best player in the FCS. He has thrown 27 NFL passes, including one touchdown.

Brady's agent, Don Yee, said "the discipline is ridiculous and has no legitimate basis."

"And if the hearing officer is completely independent and neutral, I am very confident the Wells report will be exposed as an incredibly frail exercise in fact-finding and logic," Yee said in a statement.


Ted Wells' 243-page report on the "Deflategate" scandal concludes "it's more probable than not" that Patriots personnel "participated in a deliberate effort to release air from Patriots game balls after the balls were examined by the referee." Warning: Some language in the report might be objectionable to users. Wells report PDF

The Patriots did not immediately comment on the punishments.

The punishment was announced five days after the release of the lengthy Wells report that found that Patriots personnel deliberately deflated footballs before the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 18, 2015, and that Brady "was at least generally aware" of the violations.

"With respect to your particular involvement, the report established that there is substantial and credible evidence to conclude you were at least generally aware of the actions of the Patriots' employees involved in the deflation of the footballs and that it was unlikely that their actions were done without your knowledge," NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent wrote in a letter to Brady.

The 243-page report by league-appointed attorney Ted Wells said it was "more probable than not" that Brady was aware of plans to prepare the footballs to his liking, below the NFL-mandated minimum of 12.5 pounds per square inch.

The report identified two Patriots employees -- officials' locker room attendant Jim McNally and equipment assistant John Jastremski -- as the ones who executed the plan. The Patriots suspended both indefinitely last week. Neither can be reinstated without the approval of the NFL, the league said.

Reaction in the sports world was widespread in the aftermath of the news.

Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount tweeted his objections to the discipline, while San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Darnell Dockett used it as an opportunity to take a jab at New England.
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You should check out the rate of fumbles NE had compared to other teams before and after they allowed teams to bring their footballs to away games. The chances of that happening and them not cheating is pretty damn low. They've cheated before, and they'll do it again. It's just what Belicheck does.
 
I think the NFL went a little light on Brady. But the punishment overall seems fair. While I feel the league went light on Brady they hammered the Patriots. 1M bucks and a 1st and 4th round draft pick is pretty steep. I thought Brady would get 6+ games and they would go lighter on the franchise.
 
gregbroncs said:
It's the cheatriots what did you expect to be the outcome? That they were innocent? Fat chance of that being the case. The only reason the wells report did not name Belicheat as the mastermind behind it is that they had no evidence. But because their conclusions have little proof they will get off with no penalty. Why do you think they waited till after the draft to announce this? So that they did not take ridicule for not taking away draft picks from them.
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I was wrong here. The NFL took this more serious than I thought. Though after I posted this and read more I began believing a punishment would be handed down.
 
bjacksonjazzfan said:
No punishment will come close to satisfying a majority of NFL fans. My prediction? A fine and the loss of a couple of draft picks.
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I think the punishment actually went a long way to satisfying most fans. Patriots fans will be pissed and division rivals of the Patriots will feel it's light. But overall I think most fans will be satisfied with this ruling.
 
Personally I love it. Suck it Pats and suck it Pats fans! Now brady and Belicheck will always have a * by their name as cheaters. hahaha
 
My quick and final take on this is this: the air in the balls, unless it's the balls the placekicker is using, have little it ANY advantage whether they are low or a tad bit high! I think the punishment far exceeded the infraction and was entirely excessive! The appeal will reduce the games lost by Brady to two if not more! And finally, this subject will be discussed on sports talk shows longer than the O.J. Simpson trail and verdict!
 
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