The Deflategate report is out and it is not good news for Tom Brady

Uh-oh

Tom Brady's phone is probably red hot right about now as the long-awaited 'Deflategate' report has finally been published, and it does not make for positive reading for the QB. The report by Ted Wells has found the New England Patriots were 'probably' guilty of tampering with balls during their AFC championship game against the Colts The report is a whopper but the key line in the whole 100+pages is on page 121 where the case for those who accused the Superbowl champions of cheating is laid out simply,

'Based on the evidence developed in connection with the investigation and summarized in this Report, we have concluded that it is more probable than not that New England Patriots personnel participated in violations of the NFL Playing Rules and were involved in a deliberate attempt to circumvent those rules.'

Interestingly coach Bill Belichick is cleared of any wrongdoing but Tom Brady is not so fortunate. The player is very much held responsible for the allegations of cheating that surrounded the controversial win,

'Based on the evidence, we also have concluded that it is more probable than not that Tom Brady was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of McNally and Jastremski involving the release of air from Patriots game balls.'

The report feels that a series of text messages exchanged between Jim McNally,who delivered the game balls to officials, and Patriots equipment assistant John Jastremski, are especially damning of the Patriots https://twitter.com/EricOnSportsLaw/status/596007530326667264 This evening's revelations are especially embarassing for Brady who after the controversy broke gave a long press conference where he denied all knowledge of 'Deflategate' and repeatedly talked about how he likes his balls during a game. It now seems very likely that there will be a sanction on Brady as well as the current Superbowl holders after this statement from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell,

"I want to express my appreciation to Ted Wells and his colleagues for performing a thorough and independent investigation, the findings and conclusions of which are set forth in today's comprehensive report.' 'As with other recent matters involving violations of competitive rules, Troy Vincent and his team will consider what steps to take in light of the report, both with respect to possible disciplinary action and to any changes in protocols that are necessary to avoid future incidents of this type. At the same time, we will continue our efforts vigorously to protect the integrity of the game and promote fair play at all times.'

Unsurprisingly Patriots owner Robert kraft is not happy with the report  and has described its findings as 'incomprehensible'

'Throughout the process of this nearly four-month investigation, we have cooperated and patiently awaited its outcome. To say we are disappointed in its findings, which do not include any incontrovertible or hard evidence of deliberate deflation of footballs at the AFC Championship Game, would be a gross understatement' 

'While I respect the independent process of the investigation, the time, effort and resources expended to reach this conclusion are incomprehensible to me. Knowing that there is no real recourse available, fighting the league and extending this debate would prove to be futile. We understand and greatly respect the responsibility of being one of 32 in this league and, on that basis, we will accept the findings of the report and take the appropriate actions based on those findings as well as any discipline levied by the league.'

https://twitter.com/NFL_Memes/status/596009798690308097 H/t to Yahoo