Here's what's been said...
Tuesday 12 May 2015 13:38, UK
The US sports world was stunned on Monday when legendary New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was suspended by the NFL for four games for deflating balls during the 2015 AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Our US sports blogger Alex Ferguson looks at the case and the reaction…
The news came through on Monday at 10.35pm GMT that Tom Brady had been suspended for his role in 'Deflate Gate' for four games, costing the player a cool $2m and possibly a fifth Super Bowl ring.
The Patriots - on top of a $1m fine - would be fined their first pick in 2016, and their fourth-round selection in 2017.
To wind the clock back a bit, the NFL - via lawyer Theodore Wells - investigated the New England Patriots over allegations that they had deflated balls to get an extra advantage in their AFC Championship clash with the Indianapolis Colts. As it turned out, they didn't need it as they romped to a 45-7 victory, but it still caused outrage. The news took over the week of Super Bowl 49 in Arizona.
Last week, the Wells report was released finding that it was "more probable than not that Brady was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of [Patriots official locker room attendant] Jim McNally and [Pats equipment assistant] John Jastremski involving the release of air from Patriots game balls".
In the NFL's statement on Monday, Commissioner Roger Goodell backed the report, saying that the league "relied on the critical importance of protecting the integrity of the game and the thoroughness and independence of the Wells report".
Today’s punishment… far exceeded any reasonable expectation. It was based completely on circumstantial rather than hard or conclusive evidence.
But the report admitted that there was no clear evidence that Brady asked McNally and Jastremski to deflate the balls. And Brady certainly didn't have any problem throwing with re-inflated balls in the second half of the game, going 12-for-14 for 141 yards and two touchdowns to complete the rout.
In a letter to the Patriots, NFL vice president of football operations Troy Vincent noted that Brady had failed "to produce any electronic evidence (emails, texts etc) despite being offered extraordinary safeguards by investigators to protect unrelated personal information... it is significant that Mr. Brady, Mr. McNally and Mr. Jastremski were not fully candid during the investigation".
An outraged-sounding Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement: "Today’s punishment... far exceeded any reasonable expectation. It was based completely on circumstantial rather than hard or conclusive evidence."
What's the verdict?
The reaction to Brady's suspension on Twitter was wide-ranging, with some fans absolutely astounded and some asking for a season's ban. More light-heartedly, others asked for Brady's supermodel wife, Gisele Bundchen, to divorce him in lieu of the suspension!
NFL players chimed in over Twitter, too. Patriots running back LaGarrette Blount said: "This is absolutely ridiculous", while another Patriots player's tweet was more, ahem, unprintable.
But other players were on the other end of the spectrum. Arizona Cardinals star Patrick Peterson? "Well done, NFL." San Diego Chargers' Shawne Merriman added: "It's a good thing the NFL suspended Tom Brady now everyone knows that NOBODY is above the system." And new San Francisco 49ers defensive end Darnell Dockett made everyone smile with: "You have to love the Patriots. They do anything to win a Super Bowl."
In no way am I glad to see this happen. I think it is about integrity and you have to follow the rules. If someone’s breaking the rules I understand you’re gonna get punished for it.
Eli Manning took a reserved position with the New York Post, saying: "In no way am I glad to see this happen. I think it is about integrity and you have to follow the rules. If someone's breaking the rules, I understand you're gonna get punished for it."
The Boston sports media was furious, with Dan Kilbur accusing the NFL of "Wild West discipline" and added: "The NFL nailed the Patriots for their own image." Sky Sports’ very own Neil Reynolds noted: "Rules were broken. Frustratingly they didn't need to break rules to win that game." He added: "As a fan, I'm gutted Brady is banned. I hope this doesn't tarnish his legacy."
Sports Illustrated's Peter King added that the ruling was "borderline astonishing", adding that there was no guarantee that Brady would be suspended at all for the 2015 season, particularly as the ruling was four months before the season starts, giving Brady and the Pats time to take the case to the outside courts if needs be - where the NFL "has had a poor recent record".
Of course, Brady will appeal the suspension. His agent, Don Yee, told King that the ruling was "ridiculous and had no legitimate basis". And with the word 'legitimate' getting thrown around, it sounds as though Brady's willing to take the case to the courts - either at the NFL's offices in Park Lane, or in the legal ones. He's got a reputation, $2 million, and a relationship with many well-paying sponsors riding on this.
