"This was not a football story anymore" - Tom Brady opens up on Deflategate press conference that rocked the NFL
Tom Brady's Man in the Arena, a docuseries airing on ESPN+ that details certain moments and events in the life and career of tom Brady, has been a smashing success.
Not only does the series provide an interesting conversation at the water cooler for the next day, it also gives audiences a rare glimpse into the thoughts and perspectives of the greatest quarterback of all-time.
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In the most recent episode of Man in the Arena, Brady talked about his thoughts and feelings on the "Deflategate" scandal, which was a controversy that began when players from the Indianapolis Colts accused Brady of instructing the staff of the New England Patriots to purposely deflate footballs for the AFC Championship game in 2015.
The scandal resulted in Brady being suspended for four games and the loss of two draft picks.
Tom Brady talks about Deflategate scandal in recent episode of Man in the Arena
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Here's some of what Brady had to say about the Deflategate scandal:
"I think the next morning is when I heard about it. I didn’t know what was going on, I didn’t know what they were talking about, so I kind of just laughed it off… I think everyone was trying to figure out exactly what was happening, obviously what we were being accused of doing."
Brady continued:
"I just remember walking in (to the first post-Deflategate news conference), and there was different cameras there than ever before. This was not a football story anymore. … When you’re being accused of something, first of all, you’re trying to figure out exactly what happened yourself."
"People don’t want to believe there was great, positive things behind what we had achieved. I think people want to believe that there’s always shortcuts to take and so forth. So I think everybody was just trying to answer what we could answer and move on so that you could really focus on the preparation for the Super Bowl."
In other words, it seems like Brady is referring to a common phrase that many know as 'haters going to hate.' At the time of Deflategate, the New England Patriots were (and to a large degree, still are) disliked by many because they always seemed to win or either be in the mix to win championships.
The general consensus by several Patriots players, staff and fans was that the league and opposing teams were looking for reasons to doom the Patriots, and Deflategate was just the latest way to do so.
Needless to say, Brady and the Patriots would go on to win Super Bowls in 2015, 2017 and 2019 before Brady departed south for greener pastures in Tampa.
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