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In appeal testimony, Tom Brady maintained complete innocence
The transcript of Tom Brady's lengthy appeal has been made public and obviously there are some interesting takeaways. (You can read the entire testimony here, or scroll down below.)
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Brady hasn't said much at all since the Wells report on deflate-gate was released in May, but the New England Patriots quarterback spoke for a long time at his appeal hearing over his four-game suspension in June. It didn't take him long into the testimony to maintain complete innocence over how some Patriots' game balls were measured at less than the legal limit of 12.5 psi at halftime of the AFC championship game.
Q. Mr. Brady, did the issue of inflation level ever come up as a factor when you are choosing your balls or deciding upon the balls; is that something you think about at that time?
A. Never.
Q. Okay. Do you discuss the inflation level of the balls with Mr. Jastremski during the process when you are selecting the balls?
A. Never.
This is another exchange from his testimony, with NFLPA attorney Jeffrey Kessler asking the questions:
Q. During your whole career now, I want to be very clear about this, I am asking during your whole career, have you ever asked anyone from the Patriots to alter the footballs in any way after you've approved them?
A. No.
Q. Okay. Now, have you ever specifically, so again, very specific question, have you ever told anyone on the Patriots after you've given to them that they should change the inflation level of the footballs after you approved them or do anything about the inflation level after you approved them?
A. No.
Q. Now, what would be your reaction if Mr. Jastremski or anyone else in the Patriots was doing something to the footballs after you've approved it? How would you feel about that?
A. I would disapprove of that.
"Jastremski" is Patriots employee John Jastremski, who would prepare footballs for Brady. Brady said often that he likes the footballs to feel a certain way, with the grip. He has said before that he likes the psi of the football to be 12.5 psi, the lowest permissible. In a game against the Jets on Oct. 16 last season, the balls were inflated far beyond than he likes, and that's the first time he said he learned about psi. It became a key part of the Wells report because Jastremski and fellow Patriots employee Jim McNally discussed how Brady was upset the balls were inflated too high.
Q. Sometime after the Jets game, what did Mr. Jastremski tell you he learned about the ball?
A. That the balls were, you know, inflated to, you know, much higher than what they were agreed upon before the game.
Q. Do you recall what number he used?
A. 16.
Q. 16 psi? Okay. And how did you react to that? First of all, before he mentioned that, at that time, did you have any prior knowledge as to what the exact psi levels were set for in this NFL rule from 1920?
A. Zero.
Q. No knowledge at all until then?
A. Zero.
Brady also said that his lawyers advised him to not turn over his phone to Ted Wells, the main investigator of deflate-gate. He said he "absolutely" would have turned over anything had his lawyers suggested he do so. He said he had no messages that he wanted to hide. He spoke of his normal process of destroying an old phone when he gets a new one.
"Obviously there is a log with the smart phones of all my e-mail communications," Brady said. "So in those folders, there is player contracts. There's, you know, endorsement deals. There's -- along with photos of my family and so forth that I just don't want anyone to ever come in contact with those. A lot of people's private information that, had that phone -- if it shows up somewhere, then, you know, all the contacts in my phone, you know, wouldn't want that to happen.
"So I have always told the guy who swaps them out for me, make sure you get rid of the phone. And what I mean is destroy the phone so that no one can ever, you know, reset it or do something where I feel like the information is available to anybody."
Wells said that he asked for the information on the phone and reiterated it to Brady during a March 6 interview, but he never told Brady he could be subject to discipline by not turning over his phone or private communication.
"I did not tell Mr. Brady at any time that he would be subject to punishment for not giving -- not turning over the documents," Wells said. "I did not say anything like that."
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
