After the NFL announced on Tuesday that it would uphold Tom Brady's four-game suspension for his alleged involvement in the deflation of footballs, the New England Patriots quarterback responded to the decision with a lengthy Facebook status update.
"I am very disappointed by the NFL's decision to uphold the 4 game suspension against me," he wrote Wednesday morning. "I did nothing wrong, and no one in the Patriots organization did either."
Brady said that despite having participated in "hours of testimony" over the course of six months, Commissioner Roger Goodell decided not to change his four-game suspension on the grounds that he was "generally aware" of his misconduct.
"The fact is that neither I, nor any equipment person, did anything of which we have been accused," Brady wrote.
His defense was detailed; Brady wrote in several paragraphs that he was disappointed with Goodell's decision, and said that allegations of his wrongdoing went seemingly unchallenged.
He explained in great detail the issue of his cell phone; the NFL believed Brady deliberately destroyed it in order to hinder investigators' access to his text messages and other relevant information surrounding the alleged deflation.
"To suggest that I destroyed a phone to avoid giving the NFL information it requested is completely wrong," he wrote.
Brady added that he submitted "detailed pages" of his cell phone records and emails that had been requested by investigators in order to "try and reconcile the record and fully cooperate with the investigation" after the NFL first handed down his game suspensions in May.
"There is no 'smoking gun' and this controversy is manufactured to distract from the fact they have zero evidence of wrongdoing," he wrote.
The quarterback acknowledged that he respected Commissioner Goodell's authority, but said that he needed to respect his rights as a private citizen.
"I will not allow my unfair discipline to become a precedent for other NFL players without a fight," he wrote.
