The Latest: Belichick says Brady suspension won’t alter camp
Jul 29, 2015, 8:06 AM
FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2015, file photo, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady celebrates with head coach Bill Belichick after winning NFL Super Bowl XLIX football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Glendale, Ariz. The Patriots won 28-24. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Here is the latest surrounding the suspension of star Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for using deflated footballs (all times local):
10:35 a.m.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick says the four-game suspension for star quarterback Tom Brady and the saga surrounding deflated footballs won’t alter his team’s preparation for the season.
Belichick deflected all questions about the scandal known as “Deflategate” on Wednesday, one day after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell affirmed the suspension for Brady for using doctored footballs in the AFC championship game. Instead of offering his take, Belichick referred to statements about the issue from team owner Robert Kraft as his team opened training camp.
When asked whether backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would get more practice in camp, Belichick replied by saying: “We practice everybody.”
Belichick says every player needs to re-establish his level of performance.
Belichick says when asked whether he has spoken to Brady that he talks to the team every day.
He says the team is focused now on getting the team ready for the 2015 season.
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10:30 a.m.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft says he was wrong to trust the NFL in the deflated footballs case and that he regrets not appealing the penalties against the team.
Appearing at team headquarters Wednesday, a day after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell upheld a four-game suspension of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Kraft angrily targeted the league for its handling of the case.
Kraft said that the league’s claim that Brady trashed his cellphone was just the latest in a series of statements and leaks designed to impugn the integrity of Brady and the team.
Kraft said, “I have come to the conclusion that this was never about doing what was fair and just.”
Brady was suspended four games and the team was docked $1 million and two draft picks after the league found improperly inflated footballs were used in the AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts.
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8:30 a.m.
Tom Brady is vowing to fight his four-game suspension for the scandal known as “Deflategate.”
Brady writes in a 507-word Facebook post that he did nothing wrong, and neither did anyone in the Patriots organization.
Brady also denies destroying his cellphone to keep it out of the hands of investigators.
He says there’s no smoking gun and the controversy is manufactured to distract from the league having no evidence of wrongdoing.
Brady was suspended four games and the team was docked $1 million and two draft picks after the league found improperly inflated footballs were used in the AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Investigator Ted Wells zeroed in on two equipment managers — one who called himself “The Deflator” — and said Brady was “at least generally aware” of the illegal deflation scheme.
The Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl for their fourth NFL title under Brady and coach Bill Belichick.
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