Cheat 2 Compete
2015-05-12 07:25:29 UTC
The National Football League came down hard on the New England
Patriots on Monday for their role in Deflategate, suspending
star quarterback Tom Brady for the first four games of next
season and fining the franchise $1 million.
The NFL also said the Patriots will forfeit their first-round
selection in the 2016 draft and a fourth-round pick in 2017 for
using under-inflated footballs in last season's AFC Championship
game.
Brady's agent and Patriots owner Robert Kraft both sharply
criticized the punishment, prolonging a turbulent season for the
most-profitable U.S. sports league, which has already had to
deal with scandals involving domestic violence and child abuse.
"The discipline is ridiculous and has no legitimate basis," said
Brady's agent Don Yee, adding that the quarterback will appeal
the suspension.
Ted Wells, an attorney hired by the NFL to investigate the
allegations, said in a 243-page report that it was "more
probable than not" that Patriots personnel "were involved in a
deliberate effort" to circumvent rules by using deflated
footballs in the team's 45-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts in
the AFC championship game.
An underinflated football would likely give Brady a better grip
and allow him to throw longer and with more accuracy, especially
in the chilly and wet conditions the Colts and Patriots played
in to determine who would go to the Super Bowl.
The $1 million fine ties the largest ever for a team in the NFL,
equaling the amount the league ordered San Francisco 49ers owner
Edward Debartolo, Jr. to pay in 1999 after he pleaded guilty to
a felony for his role in a Louisiana gambling scandal.
In a statement, Kraft, considered one of the league's most-
powerful owners and an ally of Commissioner Roger Goodell,
expressed his "disappointment in how this one-sided
investigation was handled" and said Brady, who has led the
Patriots to four championships, "has our unconditional support."
"Despite our conviction that there was no tampering with
footballs, it was our intention to accept any discipline levied
by the league," Kraft said in a statement.
"Todays punishment, however, far exceeded any reasonable
expectation. It was based completely on circumstantial rather
than hard or conclusive evidence."
Brady has a guaranteed base salary of $8 million for the 16-game
2015 NFL season. If the four-game suspension with no pay is
upheld, Brady will miss games against Pittsburgh, Buffalo,
Jacksonville and Dallas. Ironically, his first game back on Oct.
18 would be against the Colts.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/12/us-nfl-deflate-
idUSKBN0NW26420150512
Patriots on Monday for their role in Deflategate, suspending
star quarterback Tom Brady for the first four games of next
season and fining the franchise $1 million.
The NFL also said the Patriots will forfeit their first-round
selection in the 2016 draft and a fourth-round pick in 2017 for
using under-inflated footballs in last season's AFC Championship
game.
Brady's agent and Patriots owner Robert Kraft both sharply
criticized the punishment, prolonging a turbulent season for the
most-profitable U.S. sports league, which has already had to
deal with scandals involving domestic violence and child abuse.
"The discipline is ridiculous and has no legitimate basis," said
Brady's agent Don Yee, adding that the quarterback will appeal
the suspension.
Ted Wells, an attorney hired by the NFL to investigate the
allegations, said in a 243-page report that it was "more
probable than not" that Patriots personnel "were involved in a
deliberate effort" to circumvent rules by using deflated
footballs in the team's 45-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts in
the AFC championship game.
An underinflated football would likely give Brady a better grip
and allow him to throw longer and with more accuracy, especially
in the chilly and wet conditions the Colts and Patriots played
in to determine who would go to the Super Bowl.
The $1 million fine ties the largest ever for a team in the NFL,
equaling the amount the league ordered San Francisco 49ers owner
Edward Debartolo, Jr. to pay in 1999 after he pleaded guilty to
a felony for his role in a Louisiana gambling scandal.
In a statement, Kraft, considered one of the league's most-
powerful owners and an ally of Commissioner Roger Goodell,
expressed his "disappointment in how this one-sided
investigation was handled" and said Brady, who has led the
Patriots to four championships, "has our unconditional support."
"Despite our conviction that there was no tampering with
footballs, it was our intention to accept any discipline levied
by the league," Kraft said in a statement.
"Todays punishment, however, far exceeded any reasonable
expectation. It was based completely on circumstantial rather
than hard or conclusive evidence."
Brady has a guaranteed base salary of $8 million for the 16-game
2015 NFL season. If the four-game suspension with no pay is
upheld, Brady will miss games against Pittsburgh, Buffalo,
Jacksonville and Dallas. Ironically, his first game back on Oct.
18 would be against the Colts.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/12/us-nfl-deflate-
idUSKBN0NW26420150512