The Slatest

Tom Brady Responds to NFL Cellphone Accusation in Facebook Post

Tom Brady at the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao boxing match in Las Vegas in May.

Al Bello/Getty

The NFL announced Tuesday that New England Patriots star Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for allegedly conspiring to deflate game balls would not be reduced after an appeal, adding that officials learned during the appeals process that Brady had “sought to hide evidence” by destroying a cellphone that investigators wanted to search for potentially incriminating messages. Brady and the NFL Players Association are expected to pursue a court case against the league, and the quarterback also responded publicly on Wednesday morning with a Facebook post that specifically addressed the cellphone issue:

As Deadspin points out, the statement notably goes beyond denying Brady’s own involvement in a ball-deflation scheme to assert that no one in the wider Patriots organization did anything wrong either. (The quarterback had previously said he wasn’t aware of any misbehavior by team staffers, but this seems to be the first time he’s affirmatively stated that none was committed.)

The good news for Brady is that he’s still got one important domestic ally on his side, at least:

Screen shot/Facebook