The NFL legend's teammates recount his reaction to the controversy in AppleTV+'s 'The Dynasty' docuseries.
Ever since the so-called Deflategate controversy first erupted in 2015, Tom Brady has adamantly maintained he was not involved in any wrongdoing. And in the upcoming episode of AppleTV+'s fascinating docuseries, The Dynasty: New England Patriots, Brady's teammates shared how distraught the legendary quarterback was amid the fallout.
In the latest episode -- aptly dubbed "Under Pressure" -- of the 10-part docuseries, Patriots owner Robert Kraft and teammates Darrelle Revis and Danny Amendola opened up about how Brady handled the controversy. No, he wasn't taking it well, and he was adamant that the allegations were false.
"The two weeks were very difficult on Tommy," Kraft says in a preview of episode 7. "He was taking it very hard."
"When the Deflategate happened and Tom was the headliner of the whole situation, he addressed us as a team," says Revis, a Hall of Fame cornerback who played in just one season with the Patriots. "You can tell he was distraught. He said, 'This is something I wouldn't do. I would not ruin the season for us. The allegations are false.' He was actually balling his eyes out in front of us."
Danny Amendola echoes Revis' sentiments, while adding why the ordeal was taking a toll on Brady despite proclaiming no involvement.
"Tom can be a very fiery person but he can also be a very soft person," Amendola says. "He can be very emotional. It took a massive toll on him because of his kids. Just having to listen to his kids come home from school and talk about the things that they heard from their friends or their teachers, whoever. I felt for him."
Deflategate erupted in January 2015 following accusations that the Patriots and Brady were involved in a scheme in which they deliberately deflated footballs during the 2014 NFC Championship Game against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. Brady and the Patriots denied the accusation, and the investigation ultimately yielded a 253-page report that ultimately found the Patriots at fault. The Wells Report also claimed Brady was "at least generally aware" of the plot.
In wake of the report, lawsuits and appeals were filed but Brady ultimately served a four-game suspension during the 2016 season. The Patriots were fined $1 million and the team also lost two draft picks. After he returned from his suspension, Brady led the Patriots to a league-best 14-2 record and an appearance in Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons. Brady would then go on to orchestrate the largest comeback in Super Bowl history. After trailing 27-7 with 2:12 left in the third quarter, the Patriots mounted an improbable comeback and won, 34-28, to capture the franchise's fifth Lombardi Trophy.
After it seemed like the controversy had finally died down, Deflategate once again was at the forefront in 2022, when renowned pro football journalist Mike Florio published a book, Playmakers, addressing the NFL's handling of Deflategate probe.
According to CBS Sports, Florio unearthed information that would seem to vindicate both Brady and the Patriots. At the height of the investigation, it had erroneously been reported that 11 of the 12 balls used by the Patriots during their game against the Colts in the AFC Championship Game were underinflated by at least two pounds each. The Wells Report would eventually issue a correction on those figures, but by then the damage had been done and a narrative had been established that nefarious action had taken place during the AFC Championship Game.
Florio also reported that the NFL began conducting air-pressure checks on footballs during the 2015 season, and test results indicated that air pressure in the footballs would rise on warm days but fall on cold days. According to CBS Sports, those tests proved footballs used by the Patriots were consistent with the conditions that they were playing in that day as it relates to the recorded data in 2015.
As for those air-pressure check results, Florio reports in his book that those results were ultimately expunged under direct orders from the NFL's legal eagle. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about those results in 2022, and he said he didn't know what happened to that data.
"We were very clear that we were going to do spot-checks to make sure people were following the policies," said Goodell via NBC Sports. "That is something we fully engaged in and I don't know what happened to the data, to be honest with you."
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