The agent of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has revealed that the player will appeal his four-game suspension by the NFL and has launched a scathing attack on the protocols of the league.
The 37-year-old was banned for four games by the NFL after being found by an investigation to be generally aware that members of the Patriots' equipment staff had deflated footballs in his side's AFC championship win over the Indianapolis Colts.
The league revealed that his lack of cooperation with investigators was the reason behind the severity of the punishment as he refused to hand over his phone and other electronic devices.
However, Don Yee has slammed the NFL and the investigation by Ted Wells, claiming that there was bias towards the league in the report, and has insisted that Brady is innocent of any wrongdoing.
Yee has also disclosed that they will appeal the sanction and is confident that the four-time Super Bowl winner will have his name cleared.
He said in a statement: "The discipline is ridiculous and has no legitimate basis. In my opinion, this outcome was pre-determined; there was no fairness in the Wells investigation whatsoever. There is no evidence that Tom directed footballs be set at pressures below the allowable limits. In fact, the evidence shows Tom clearly emphasised that footballs be set at pressures within the rules.
"Tom also cooperated with the investigation and answered every question presented to him. The Wells Report presents significant evidence, however, that the NFL lacks standards or protocols with respect to its handling of footballs prior to games; this is not the fault of Tom or the Patriots. The report also presents significant evidence the NFL participated with the Colts in some type of pre-AFC Championship Game planning regarding the footballs.
"This fact may raise serious questions about the integrity of the games we view on Sundays. We will appeal, and if the hearing officer is completely independent and neutral, I am very confident the Wells Report will be exposed as an incredibly frail exercise in fact-finding and logic.
"The NFL has a well-documented history of making poor disciplinary decisions that often are overturned when truly independent and neutral judges or arbitrators preside, and a former federal judge has found the commissioner has abused his discretion in the past, so this outcome does not surprise me. Sadly, today's decision diminishes the NFL as it tells its fans, players and coaches that the games on the field don't count as much as the games played on Park Avenue."
The Patriots were fined $1m (£631,000) and docked their first-round pick in the 2016 Draft and a fourth-round selection in 2017 for their part in the deflategate scandal.
Simon Sinclair
