Tom Brady, the NFL, and Deflategate

On January 18th, 2015, the NFL began investigating allegations against the New England Patriots for using "deflated footballs" in their AFC Championship Game victory over the Indianapolis Colts. According to the NFL rulebook, game balls must be inflated between 12.5–13.5 pounds of air. Two days later, NFL officials determined all 11 footballs used by the Patriots during the game were underinflated.

On May 6th, 2015, Ted Wells, the appointed independent investigator, released his report indicating that it was "more probable than not" that two Patriots personnel members deliberately participated in releasing air from Patriots game balls and that quarterback Tom Brady was "generally aware of the inappropriate activities."

On May 11th, the NFL suspended Tom Brady for four games without pay. Three days later, the NFL Players Association filed an appeal for Tom Brady’s four-game suspension.

On July 28th, 2015, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced his decision to uphold Tom Brady’s four-game suspension.

Below are some of the news reports and headlines from July 28th reacting to Brady’s upheld suspension, as well as a press conference transcript from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.