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Tom Brady Sr. on Wells Report: 'This was Framegate right from the beginning'

Eric Edholm

So New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is not the only one upset about the findings in and wording of the Ted Wells report on Tom Brady and deflated footballs.

Tom Brady Sr., talking to USA Today Sports, said the NFL backed itself into a corner with the drawn-out deflate-gate investigation and felt it had to justify such excess and come down hard on his son.

"The league had to cover themselves," Brady Sr. said. "The reality is they had no conclusive evidence.

"This was Framegate right from the beginning."

Brady Sr. believes his son is innocent in the case and his faith in him remains undeterred, even though the Wells report — perhaps more damning than the delfating claims themselves — essentially calls Brady a bald-faced liar.

"I don't have any doubt about my son's integrity — not one bit," Brady Sr. said. "In this country, you're innocent until proven guilty. It just seems Tommy is now guilty until proven innocent."

Brady Sr., like Kraft, points to the report's lack of hard, unequivocal evidence implicating the quarterback.

"This thing is so convoluted," Brady Sr. said. "... They say that possibly — possibly — he was aware of this. The reality is if you can't prove he did it, then he's innocent, and lay off him. That's the bottom line."

One lingering element that has many people confused is the fact that balls from both the Indianapolis Colts (three of four) and the Patriots (11 of 12) were found to be underinflated. Brady Sr. asks, rhetorically, where the justice is in that and how his son is supposed to defend himself now.

"How can Tommy defend himself? It's impossible," Brady Sr. said. "This is so distorted. To have something come out like this and say it's more probable than not? What does that mean?

"I'm watching the NFL Network saying he could be fined and suspended. Are you kidding me?"

No, dad, that's really what people are saying. Punishment is expected soon.

So ... conspiracy at work here?

"There was definitely a sting going on," said Brady Sr. "And as much as the Colts knew there was going to be a sting, they still had four underinflated balls.

"I just don't know how they can impugn someone like this."

Fascinating stuff. On a Wednesday in May, the NFL once more dominates the headlines. And a quarterback's dad isn't too happy about it.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!