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We’ve heard a lot over the past few days from the New England Patriots, the Tom Brady camp and Boston fans about how Brady has been railroaded. We’ve heard ridiculous comments such as “sting operation,” “framegate” and “one-sided investigation.” We’ve heard the defense as to why Brady didn’t turn over his cellphone. We’ve heard countless excuses as to how the footballs were never purposely deflated. What we hadn’t heard is a peep out of the NFL or Ted Wells.
Until now.
Wells had a teleconference for NFL media members to discuss the personal attacks made upon him and his investigation. He explained his findings for those who didn’t quite understand it, or most likely, never bothered to read the report in the first place.
After hearing Wells speak, I can’t possibly see how there is anyone out there who thinks the Patriots didn’t purposely deflate footballs. Whether or not Roger Goodell and Troy Vincent’s punishment is proportional to the infraction is another debate, but the debate as to whether or not it happened is over.
Wells explained exactly what he wanted from Brady’s cellphone. He requested Brady show him the text exchanges he had between himself and the two equipment managers. Brady refused. He never asked Brady to turn in his phone, and he never asked Brady to allow him to clone every piece of information on there. He explained that he never even wanted to touch the phone — he just wanted to see the text message exchanges. But Brady still refused. Brady is clearly hiding something. An innocent man would have no issue showing Wells those messages, especially if it will help prove his innocence. Those who argue that it’s a violation of Brady’s privacy to turn in his cellphone have to keep quiet. Asking to see a text exchange is rather mild and harmless — if you have nothing to hide.
Wells also argued against those who claim he found no factual evidence implicating Tom Brady directly. Yes, it’s true he never found the smoking gun. Perhaps he would have if Brady had cooperated, but he did have text messages between Jim McNally and John Jastremski. The text messages are highly damaging to Brady, and Wells read them and explained the investigation’s interpretation of those texts. That interpretation is what any person with an ounce of common sense would deduce as well. We’ve all read the text messages by now (and if you haven’t, you shouldn’t have an opinion on this matter in the first place), but the other thing Wells stressed is that McNally had given himself the nickname “the deflator” before this season — not after the AFC Championship game. Patriots fans want to call this nickname nothing more than a joke. But for something to be humorous, it needs to be grounded in reality. If McNally wants to call himself the deflator, what other possible explanation is there?
Based on Wells’ discovery of the deflator texts, he went back to the Patriots to request an additional interview with McNally to ask him further about this nickname and the text exchanges with Jastremski. The Patriots’ response wasn’t exactly inviting, as they refused to cooperate with the investigation any further.
Wells didn’t find a smoking gun, but it was the Patriots’ refusal to aid in the investigation that prevented it. The circumstantial evidence is overwhelming. The Patriots stonewalling the investigation is damning. Goodell has ruled and he has done so against an organization that former NFL safety Ryan Clark claims has a “culture of cheating.” Wells caught the Patriots red-handed, and their ridiculous charade of defiance will only further bury them in a controversy that would have been easily avoided if they just cooperated from day one.
Bill Zimmerman is a featured NFL writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.
