The Verdict Is In On Deflategate...

[MajGenl.Meade]

When you eliminate the impossible, then however improbable, the truth must be what cremains

[Lord Jim]

Today's the day:

Ted Wells to attend Tom Brady hearing

Attorney Ted Wells, whose investigative findings into the deflation of New England Patriots footballs led to severe penalties handed down by the NFL, will be present during Tom Brady's appeal hearing Tuesday in New York, according to league and union sources.

Brady is appealing a four-game suspension stemming from Wells' 243-page report, which found that the star quarterback was "at least generally aware" of a scheme to illegally deflate footballs for the AFC Championship Game.

Brady will be represented by the NFL Players Association and its outside counsel, Jeffrey Kessler, during the appeal process.

Wells will be available to answer questions from both Brady's side and commissioner Roger Goodell, who will hear the appeal and ultimately decide whether the suspension will stand, be reduced or vacated, sources said told ESPN.

Thursday has also been set aside for the hearing to continue, if necessary.

Wells' attendance at the hearing was reported earlier Monday by NFL Network.

Brady was suspended for the first four games of the 2015 season, and the Patriots were fined $1 million and stripped of two picks -- a first-rounder in the 2016 draft and a fourth-rounder in the 2017 draft. Patriots owner Robert Kraft said last month that he will not appeal those penalties.

http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/i ... earing-nfl

[MajGenl.Meade]

[Lord Jim]

Deflategate & Tom Brady: What's next after 10-hour hearing with Goodell


Deflategate & Tom Brady: What's next after 10-hour hearing with Goodell
By Jared Dubin | Staff Writer
June 24, 2015 10:52 am ET

Tom Brady's appeal hearing was held on Tuesday at the NFL offices in New York. According to various reports, it lasted nearly 11 hours, with 10 hours of testimony being heard. Brady apparently didn't speak or testify at the hearing, but was there until the "bitter end" and came off as an "A-plus, 10 kind of guy."[ Wow, that's amazing...he must have some serious Jedi Knight wicked mind trick skills to be able to come off as an "A-plus, 10 kind of guy." without even uttering a word....]

According to NFL Players Association lawyer Jeffrey Kessler, Brady's side made a "compelling case" for exoneration,[gee, now there's a shock... a defense lawyer thinking his side made a compelling case for his client's innocence...] one presumably based on the assertion that there was no direct evidence linking Brady to the deflation of footballs.

Commissioner Roger Goodell has the sole power to hear and decide on appeals of player suspensions if he so chooses. The players and owners collectively bargained that into the 2011 CBA. The players association tried to get around that in this case by insisting they'd call Goodell as a witness in Brady's appeal hearing, but Goodell refused to recuse himself and heard the appeal on Tuesday anyway.

All that's left for Brady to do now is wait.

[Guinevere]

Yeah. No.

I read he testified and did an excellent job explaining every question asked of him. It is rather hard to believe that the complainant doesn't testify in arbitration/appeal. Every piece I've read said he testified under oath -- which is standard.

What's the link for that stellar piece of journalism?

[Big RR]

My understanding is that he testified under oath as well; hopefully he was well prepared by his attorneys to do this, as I've seen a lot of people end up backing themselves into corners from which they cannot exit while doing the same thing (during depositions). Usually these were Type A personalities who weren't as smart as they thought they were (and I think Brady fits that bill).

[Lord Jim]

Here's the link to the story:

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-foo ... al-hearing

And then in the story, there's another link to this specifically

https://twitter.com/BartHubbuch/status/ ... 8488751105

Apparently the source for the statement that he didn't speak was one of the NFLPA lawyers...

If he did in fact testify, it's puzzling why one of his own lawyers would say that he didn't...

I was all set to blame the writer for sloppy journalism, but that certainly should have been a good source to rely on.

[Guinevere]

My understanding is that he testified under oath as well; hopefully he was well prepared by his attorneys to do this, as I've seen a lot of people end up backing themselves into corners from which they cannot exit while doing the same thing (during depositions). Usually these were Type A personalities who weren't as smart as they thought they were (and I think Brady fits that bill).

If he didn't rely on his attorneys to prepare him he is a fool, and so are they for then calling him to testify. Say what you like about Brady, but he is no fool (and he is pretty smart and savvy).

[Guinevere]

Here's the link to the story:

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-foo ... al-hearing

And then in the story, there's another link to this specifically

https://twitter.com/BartHubbuch/status/ ... 8488751105

Apparently the source for the statement that he didn't speak was one of the NFLPA lawyers...

If he did in fact testify, it's puzzling why one of his own lawyers would say that he didn't...

I was all set to blame the writer for sloppy journalism, but that certainly should have been a good source to rely on.

The clip that pops up with that same CBS sports page for Boomer and Carton is titled "Brady testifies under oath at hearing." Someone screwed up somewhere. Or got conflicting information.

Anyway, unless someone at the hearing confirms it either way, we will never know (and likely no one will, or should because of the confidentiality requirements) unless the case goes on to court and the hearing transcript becomes evidence (which it a whole separate issue).

Puzzling.

[Big RR]

My understanding is that he testified under oath as well; hopefully he was well prepared by his attorneys to do this, as I've seen a lot of people end up backing themselves into corners from which they cannot exit while doing the same thing (during depositions). Usually these were Type A personalities who weren't as smart as they thought they were (and I think Brady fits that bill).

If he didn't rely on his attorneys to prepare him he is a fool, and so are they for then calling him to testify. Say what you like about Brady, but he is no fool (and he is pretty smart and savvy).

No Guin, I don't think he is a fool, and I presume he has competent counsel. but I have seen some very smart people self destruct when subjected to examination (I'm sure you have as well), and I use those stories when I stress to similarly smart people about the need to be prepped.

[Gob]

This cack still going?

[MajGenl.Meade]

Wake up, Gob!

[Big RR]

[Lord Jim]

At last, a little good news:

Tom Brady Destroyed Cell Phone
... Suspension Upheld

Tom Brady told the NFL he could not submit his cell phone as evidence in the Deflategate investigation because he destroyed it ... this according to the NFL.

The league just issued a statement saying it would UPHOLD Brady's 4 game suspension -- without pay -- for cheating by instructing staffers to deflate the balls in the AFC Championship game.

Brady allegedly texted clubhouse attendants about the plan to deflate the balls -- but when asked for his cell phone, Brady's attorney told the league it was "unavailable because it had been destroyed."

Brady's lawyer told the league, "Text messages exchanged on that cellphone could not be retrieved."[I guess he figured, "well, If it worked for Hillary"...]

The NFL says, "At the hearing, Mr. Brady testified that it is his practice to destroy (or to give to his assistant to destroy) his cellphone and SIM cards when he gets a new cell phone."

The NFL says Brady gave his old cellphone to his assistant to be destroyed on March 6, 2015 -- the very same day he met with Ted Wells and his team to be questioned about the tampering allegations.

The league says Brady gave them a letter from his cell phone carrier saying the text messages could no longer be recovered.

2015/07/28/nfl-tom-brady-destroyed-cell-phone-suspension-upheld/

Here's the NFL statement:

"In the opinion informing Brady that his appeal had been denied, Commissioner Goodell emphasized important new information disclosed by Brady and his representatives in connection with the hearing.

On or shortly before March 6, the day that Tom Brady met with independent investigator Ted Wells and his colleagues, Brady directed that the cell phone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed. 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. ‎

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 destruction of the cell phone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady.

"Based on the Wells Report and the evidence presented at the hearing, Commissioner Goodell concluded in his decision that Brady was aware of, and took steps to support‎, the actions of other team employees to deflate game footballs below the levels called for by the NFL's Official Playing Rules. The commissioner found that Brady’s deliberate destruction of potentially relevant evidence went beyond a mere failure to cooperate in the investigation and supported a finding that he had sought to hide evidence of his own participation in the underlying scheme to alter the footballs."

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutd ... 21377.html

[MajGenl.Meade]

He replaces the cell whenever his air time is low

[Guinevere]

Oh please -- the cell phone isn't the only place that stores the records, they are all kept electronically. Go get a subpoena and get them from the service provider. Oh, wait, you don't have the power to do that, do you NFL . . .

As for the rest of it, looks like Goodell is making unsupported conclusions his investigator didn't even make. Good luck upholding that in federal court. I'd be filing the complaint and the injunction in the next week or so.

[Big RR]

Guin--OK, they may be available elsewhere, or they may not be (and let's not forget The league says Brady gave them a letter from his cell phone carrier saying the text messages could no longer be recovered. " as state din Jim's post); but that is no excuse for destroying records in your possession, especially when you have reason to know they may be material to a court proceeding (and Brady insisted from the very beginning he would go to court if necessary to keep his name clear, so he obviously knew that). I know I wouldn't want my client to have destroyed his phone this way. I also wonder whether the CBA places any affirmative obligations on persons covered by it to cooperate with investigations and not to destroy evidence.

What he did might have been calculated to destroy evidence, might have been accidental, or might have been part of a childish scheme to screw the investigators, but at this point we do not know. He could file for an injunction in the federal courts (I hope he does because I'd like more of this story to come out), but this may well come back to haunt him.

[wesw]

he followed Hillary s example.....

[Joe Guy]

The NFL says Brady gave his old cellphone to his assistant to be destroyed on March 6, 2015 -- the very same day he met with Ted Wells and his team to be questioned about the tampering allegations.

It was later discovered that Brady's assistant is also employed as a pigskin oxygen dwindler.

[Lord Jim]

The commissioner found that Brady’s deliberate destruction of potentially relevant evidence went beyond a mere failure to cooperate in the investigation and supported a finding that he had sought to hide evidence of his own participation in the underlying scheme to alter the footballs."

They never learn...

It ain't the crime that gets you; it's the cover-up...

the cell phone isn't the only place that stores the records

As the article indicates (and Big RR pointed out ) the service provider is saying that the text messages cannot be recovered...

looks like Goodell is making unsupported conclusions his investigator didn't even make

If you're referring to the accusation (which seems both strong and commonsensical to me given the "coincidence" of when the phone was destroyed) that Brady sought to hide evidence of his participation by destroying the phone...

It would have been a little difficult for Wells to have made that accusation, (unless he had a time machine) since Brady didn't reveal he had done that until June 18th; long after the Wells report had been completed and released.