Tom Brady's Deflategate Suspension Upheld: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady suffered another major blow Tuesday as his attempt to appeal a four-game suspension for alleged involvement in the Deflategate scandal was unsuccessful.

Ben Volin of the Boston Globe broke word of the decision, with Rand Getlin of NFL Network passing along the league's release.

In the decision, the NFL revealed that Brady destroyed his cellphone and therefore couldn't provide it to investigators, via Albert Breer of NFL.com:

Volin also shared Brady's explanation for the decision to destroy the phone:

Commissioner Roger Goodell said the "closest parallel" would be a first violation for performance-enhancing drugs since both seek "competitive advantage," according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Mike Florio of ProfootballTalk.com reported Brady's suspension was going to be reduced by “at least 50 percent” if he would have admitted guilt. 

With the suspension being upheld, Brady will lose $1.88 million, per Darren Rovell of ESPN.

The quarterback released a statement on the decision on Facebook:

The NFL was open to a settlement with Brady, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, via Gregg Rosenthal:

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Rapoport reported earlier Tuesday that the NFL and NFLPA exchanged offers for a potential settlement for Brady's suspension. However, Brady was not been willing to accept any offer that includes him sitting out games, while the league would almost certainly want an acknowledgement of contrition from Brady. 

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Judy Battista of NFL.com said the sides were closing in on a one-game suspension settlement, but it was derailed because Brady wanted the records sealed and the NFL wouldn't budge, via Rapoport. NFLPA assistant executive director George Attalah said any report suggesting the sides were nearing a settlement is "rubbish."

Gary Myers of the New York Daily News added, per a source, that the "NFL never offered Brady settlement but league turned down Brady offer of fine and no suspension or admission of guilt."

Brady will continue to "examine his legal options," per Rapoport.  The NFLPA later announced it would appeal the NFL's decision on Brady:

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The fact that the NFL would resort to basing a suspension on a smoke screen of irrelevant text messages instead of admitting that they have all of the phone records they asked for is a new low, even for them, but it does nothing to correct their errors.

The NFLPA will appeal this outrageous decision on behalf of Tom Brady.

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The Patriots also expressed their displeasure in a statement, via Erik Frenz of Bleacher Report:

The 37-year-old quarterback was suspended for the first four contests of the 2015 regular season after a report completed by investigator Ted Wells ruled that it was "more probable than not" that Brady knew about the deflation of footballs in the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Brady went through with an appeal as expected, and the reasoning behind it was laid out in a letter sent to NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent. According to the letter, Brady and the NFL Players Association did not believe Wells provided sufficient evidence of wrongdoing:

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Indeed, the Report is wrought with unsupported speculation regarding Mr. Brady's purported knowledge of, and involvement with, two Patriots employees' purported conduct, and grasps at dubious, contradictory and mischaracterized circumstantial evidence merely to conclude that it is "more probable than not" that Mr. Brady was "generally aware of" "inappropriate activities."

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In addition to the appeal itself, the NFLPA sought for Goodell to recuse himself from the hearing, but he ultimately declined.

Despite Goodell's involvement in the initial suspension, he made it clear that his status as the arbitrator did not necessarily mean the suspension would be upheld, per Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald:

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I have publicly expressed my appreciation to Mr. Wells and his colleagues for their thorough and independent work. But that does not mean that I am wedded to their conclusions or to their assessment of the facts. Nor does it mean that, after considering the evidence and argument presented during the appeal, I may not reach a different conclusion about Mr. Brady's conduct or the discipline imposed. That is true even though the initial discipline decision was reached after extensive discussion and in reliance on the critical importance of protecting the integrity of the game.

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While many assumed Brady's suspension could potentially get reduced as a means of compromise, the four-time Super Bowl champion reportedly entered the appeal with the intention of getting the entire ban thrown out.

According to ESPN Boston, ESPN's Sal Paolantonio was told the two-time NFL MVP wanted his name cleared:

Howe backed up that notion, saying he heard that Brady would go to great lengths to get the initial decision changed, per 98.5 The Sports Hub:

The possibility of Brady's suspension getting reduced or overturned seemed to pick up steam in the weeks leading up to his appeal hearing as holes started to get poked in Wells' report.

According to Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com, multiple major news outlets questioned if the suspension was warranted based on the evidence gathered by Wells, or lack thereof:

Despite the idea that the tide was starting to turn in Brady's favor, the NFL and Goodell were steadfast in their initial decision as they determined Brady will still have to sit out the first four games of the 2015 regular season.

Brady's unsuccessful appeal means his name will continue to be linked to a cheating scandal, and it also means the Patriots will have to navigate a difficult road in order to defend their championship, provided he does end up serving the four-game ban.

Second-year quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will be called upon to start the team's first four games, and while it is possible he could keep the Pats' heads above water, Brady could just as easily return to a reeling team.

New England has overcome plenty of adversity over the years, but being without the best player in franchise history for a month would undoubtedly be among its toughest tests yet.

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