Brady’s agent begs to differ. Don Yee released a lengthy statement Thursday morning to refute claims made by the report, likening it to a “sting operation” run by the NFL and the Colts.
MORE: Brady’s father refers to “Deflate-gate” as “Framegate” | Gronk reacts in Gronk way
Punishment for Brady (and the two Pats employees responsible for the incident) is expected from the league. Fines is likely and a suspension for the quarterback is on the table — ESPN’s Adam Schefter believes Brady will not be the team’s opening-night starter.
The Wells report buries this issue in a footnote on page 46 without any further elaboration. The league is a significant client of the investigators’ law firm; it appears to be a rich source of billings and media exposure based on content in the law firm’s website. This was not an independent investigation and the contents of the report bear that out – all one has to do is read closely and critically, as opposed to simply reading headlines. The investigators’ assumptions and inferences are easily debunked or subject to multiple interpretations. Much of the report’s vulnerabilities are buried in the footnotes, which is a common legal writing tactic. It is a sad day for the league as it has abdicated the resolution of football-specific issues to people who don’t understand the context or culture of the sport. I was physically present for my client’s interview. I have verbatim notes of the interview.
Tom made himself available for nearly an entire day and patiently answered every question. It was clear to me the investigators had limited understanding of professional football. For reasons unknown, the Wells report omitted nearly all of Tom’s testimony, most of which was critical because it would have provided this report with the context that it lacks. Mr. Wells promised back in January to share the results of this investigation publicly, so why not follow through and make public all of the information gathered and let the public draw its own conclusions? This report contains significant and tragic flaws, and it is common knowledge in the legal industry that reports like this generally are written for the benefit of the purchaser."
