Tom Brady Breaks Silence on Report That He Knew About Deflated Balls: ''It's Only Been 30 Hours, So I Haven't Had Time to Digest It''

"There's still a process that's going forth right now and I'm involved in that process," New England Patriots quarterback said during event in Salem, Mass.

At least Tom Brady didn't say the word "balls" even once.

While sitting in the lukewarm seat during a Q&A session with Jim Gray at Salem State University, the New England Patriots quarterback finally addressed the cheating allegations that resurfaced yesterday with the issuance of a report by Ted Wells that concluded that the Patriots played their AFC Championship game with deflated balls—and Brady knew all about it.

"I don't have really any reaction, our owner commented on it yesterday. It's only been 30 hours so I haven't had much time to digest it fully but when I do I'll be sure to let you know. And everybody else!"

"Are you that slow a reader?" Gray cracked.

It is a 243-page report, which was blasted this morning by Brady's agent as a "terrible disappointment."

"Well, my athletic career's been better than my academic career. I'm used to reading x's and o's, this was a bit longer," Brady smiled, taking Gray's sarcasm in stride.

Asked when he would address the report's findings, the Super Bowl XLIX MVP said "hopefully soon."

"There's still a process that's going forth right now and I'm involved in that process," Brady continued. "Whenever it happens, it happens, and I'll certainly want to be very comfortable in how I feel about the statements that I make."

Gray asked if Brady, who had landed at the campus via helicopter, was bothered by the ongoing cheating allegations.

"I've dealt with a lot of things in the past," he answered (sort of). "I dealt with this there months ago before the Super Bowl. I dealt with a lot of adversity over the course of my career, my life...I'm very fortunate to have so many people that love me and support me. Life is so much about the ups and downs. Certainly I accept my role and responsibility as a public figure and I think a lot of it, you take the good with the bad.

"Dealing with different adversities in life you just try do the best you can do. I was raised by a great mom and dad who support me and I have a lot of great teammates that support me, so we'll get through it."

Admitting that his family and teammates are "a little biased" when it comes to what they've been telling him lately, he added, "Like I said, we'll deal with this at a date...Like you said earlier, that's not what this night was supposed to be about. I was here to come and have some fun."

Asked if the controversy has detracted from the joy of winning the 2015 Super Bowl, his fourth championship, he said, "Absolutely not... We earned and achieved everything that we got this year as a team. I'm proud of that and our fans should be too."

Gray asked point-blank: "Is the Super Bowl tainted?"

The crowd certainly didn't sound as if they thought so, and Brady added, "Neither do I."