Tom Brady loses appeal of 4-game suspension from NFL
Despite insisting they wanted to face him, the Steelers will not see New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady when they play their season opener because his four-game suspension for using underinflated footballs in the AFC championship game was upheld by commissioner Roger Goodell.
The league announced the decision Tuesday, citing recent evidence that Mr. Brady, a threetime Super Bowl most valuable player, told an assistant
to destroy his cell phone on or just before March 6, when the four-time Super Bowlwinning quarterback met with independent investigator Ted Wells.
That means the Steelers will face backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, a second-round draft choice in 2014, in Gillette Stadium when the two teams meet Sept. 10 to open the NFL season. Unless, of course, Mr. Brady decides to take his case to court, which has been mentioned as a possibility, and prevails there.
Mr. Brady, a two-time NFL MVP, was not under any legal obligation to cooperate with Mr. Wells, but his failure to do so, and decision to have his cell phone destroyed, constituted conduct that was “detrimental to the integrity of, or public confidence in, the game of professional football,” according to Mr. Goodell.
“He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone,” Mr. Goodell said in his decision.
“During the four months that the cell phone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device.”
The text messages were critical to the Wells investigation because they could have shown details of Mr. Brady’s messages with equipment managers blamed for deflating footballs.
Meantime, the Steelers received more good news: The NFL decided to reduce running back Le’Veon Bell’s suspension for marijuana possession and driving under the influence from three games to two. Mr. Bell appealed his decision.
Several of the Steelers players said last week that they hoped Mr. Brady would win his appeal and be able to play in their season opener in Foxborough, Mass.
“The competitor in you wants to see the best team out there, and why not beat Tom Brady in Gillette Stadium on a Thursday night game?’’ said defensive end Cam Heyward.
”I want to [play against him],” right tackle Marcus Gilbert said. “I mean, it’s Tom Brady and the opening game of the NFL! I hope he wins his appeal. It would be great for the NFL. It would be great for both of the [teams’] fans. We’ll get their best and they will see our best. The NFL and the fans want to see the best on the best, and hopefully they’ll give it to us the first game.” That didn’t happen. Mr. Brady was suspended by NFL executive Troy Vincent in May following the Wells report, and the Patriots were fined $1 million and docked a pair of draft picks. The team didn’t appeal its penalty, but Mr. Brady and his lawyers made their case during a 10-hour appeal hearing on June 23. The Patriots had no comment on Mr. Goodell’s decision.
The NFL Players Association has previously said it would challenge the decision in court if Mr. Brady’s suspension wasn’t erased. After the Brady appeal was denied, the union said it would appeal what it called an “outrageous decision.”
“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,” the NFLPA said in a statement. “The commissioner's ruling did nothing to address the legal deficiencies of due process.”
Mr. Brady and the Patriots have denied knowingly using deflated footballs in the AFC title game win over Indianapolis. The Patriots went on to beat Seattle in the Super Bowl, and Mr. Brady was the MVP.
The NFL announced in late January that Mr. Wells would head an investigation into New England’s use of underinflated balls against the Colts. More than three months later, the 243-page Wells report was issued, saying it was “more probable than not” that Mr. Brady was “at least generally aware” that footballs he used were improperly deflated by team personnel.
Mr. Brady appealed, and the union asked Mr. Goodell to recuse himself from hearing the appeal because he could not be impartial and might be called as a witness. But Mr. Goodell said it was his responsibility to oversee the hearing to protect the integrity of the league.
Mr. Brady, who turns 38 on Monday, took nearly every snap last season, meaning Mr. Garoppolo, a secondround pick in 2014, has had very little playing time. The only time the Steelers beat the Patriots in New England during Mr. Brady’s tenure was in 2008, when Mr. Brady missed nearly the entire season because of a knee injury and was replaced by Matt Cassel.
The Steelers have a 2-5 lifetime record against Mr. Brady. No NFL team has a winning record against him.