Charles Haley Says He's 'Lost All Respect' for Tom Brady After Deflategate

Charles Haley, a member of the 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, states that he's lost all respect for Tom Brady and believes that all the New England quarterback's Super Bowl victories are tainted.

Rick Gosselin of the Talk of Fame Network passed along comments from the longtime defensive star. When asked to choose between Joe Montana and Brady, the five-time Pro Bowler made his thoughts crystal clear:

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Joe didn't have to cheat. I've lost all respect (for Brady). When your integrity is challenged in the game of football, to me, all his Super Bowls are tainted. You have to say this just didn't happen overnight. Who wants that shadow over them? I could be wrong. But I realize there were 12 balls deflated and 12 ain't. Then you've got (Patriots coach Bill) Belichick coming on three different times trying to explain it...you know something is wrong.

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Haley won the Super Bowl five times, more than any other player. Brady has four to his credit, but the former San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys player doesn't seem ready to welcome the quarterback to the five-ring club anytime soon.

Haley was of course referencing the ongoing Deflategate investigation stemming from the deflated footballs in the Patriots' AFC Championship Game victory over the Indianapolis Colts. New England won that game 45-7 before edging the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl, where no concerns were raised about ball pressure.

ESPN's Skip Bayless took to Twitter to strongly disagree with Haley: 

Still, Haley told the Talk of Fame Network that he doesn't believe the situation will simply fade away:

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This is what Charles Haley believes—it's going to come back to haunt him one day. If the league doesn't come down on this guy. ... Everybody is talking about it. Nobody believes it was by accident. It is what it is.

I'm not going to take any of his Super Bowl rings away from him. But it's sad that it has to be tainted like it is right now. Hopefully they'll come out and let us know what really happened. Then all the mystery is gone.

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It's interesting for Haley to come out immediately after his Hall of Fame selection and start taking aim at one of the NFL's biggest stars. But he clearly feels strongly about the situation and doesn't think Brady should be let off the hook.

The league hasn't set a timetable to conclude its inquiry into the issue. Brady and Belichick have both publicly denied having any direct role in the deflating of footballs. It was a hot-button issue leading up to the Super Bowl but has since slipped out of the spotlight.

Haley doesn't sound ready to let it go, though.