Al Bello/Getty ImagesTom Brady has responded to yesterday's Wells Report via his agent today, calling the findings a "terrible disappointment."
On Wednesday, the NFL released a 243-page report following an extensive investigation into whether the New England Patriots intentionally let air out of the footballs during the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts (aka Deflategate) has revealed that not only did personnel likely break the rules, but their Super Bowl-winning quarterback knew about it.
Tom Brady has previously stated publicly that he knew nothing about the inflated balls. In the report, Wells writes that Brady refused to turn over emails and text messages that were "pertinent to the subject of our investigation."
The 37-year-old quarterback's agent Donald Yee released the following statement to E! News:
The Wells report, with all due respect, is a significant and terrible disappointment. It's omission of key facts and lines of inquiry suggest the investigators reached a conclusion first, and then determined so-called facts later. One fact alone taints this entire report. What does it say about the league office's protocols and ethics when it allows one team to tip it off to an issue prior to a championship game, and no league officials or game officials notified the Patriots of the same issue prior to the game? This suggests it may be more probable than not that the league cooperated with the Colts in perpetrating a sting operation. 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.
In summary, Brady's agent is attacking the investigating law firm due to its connections with the league, however, at no point does Yee declare that Brady had no knowledge of the deflation.
The lengthy report, authored by lead investigator Ted Wells, cites text messages between equipment staffers Jim McNally and John Jastremski as well as increased communication between Brady and Jastermeski after reports began swirling that the Patriots broke the rules as damning evidence.
"For the reasons described in this Report, and after a comprehensive investigation, we have concluded that, in connection with the AFC Championship Game, it is more probable than not that New England Patriots personnel participated in violations of the Playing Rules and were involved in a deliberate effort to circumvent the rules. In particular, we have concluded that it is more probable than not that Jim McNally (the Officials Locker Room attendant for the Patriots) and John Jastremski (an equipment assistant for the Patriots) participated in a deliberate effort to release air from Patriots game balls after the balls were examined by the referee. Based on the evidence, it also is our view that it is more probable than not that Tom Brady (the quarterback for the Patriots) was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of McNally and Jastremski involving the release of air from Patriots game balls."
Yesterday, Patriots owner Robert Kraft released a lengthy statement regarding the findings and called the report "incomprehensible." NFL commissioner Roger Goodell also published a statement following the investigation, saying that "disciplinary action" as well as "changes in protocols" may occur down the line.