When Tom Brady Sr. rushed to TB12's defense after controversial 2015 Deflategate scandal - "This was Framegate"
Tom Brady Sr. played a pivotal role in the life of his son, quarterback Tom Brady. Like most parents, they will defend their child whenever they can no matter how old they are.
Brady Sr. did just that in May 2015 after his son was involved in the highly publicized Deflategate scandal.
A report by independent lawyer Ted Wells asserted that the then-Patriots quarterback was involved in the deflation of footballs. Brady Sr. wasted no time defending his son:
"In this country, you're innocent until proven guilty. It just seems Tommy is now guilty until proven innocent. This thing is so convoluted. ... They say that possibly — possibly — he was aware of this.
"The reality is if you can't prove he did it, then he's innocent, and lay off him. That's the bottom line. [...] This was Framegate right from the beginning."
There were claims that Tom Brady and the New England Patriots violated NFL rules by deflating footballs during the 2014 AFC title game versus the Indianapolis Colts. The league instructs every football with inflation falling between 12½ and 13½ pounds per square inch (PSI).
However, 11 of the 12 footballs used in the first half of the game were determined by officials to be below the minimum PSI. This was according to senior NFL insider Ian Rapoport. One of the footballs came in under two PSI and the remaining one just "a few ticks" under.
The three-time MVP wasn't directly implicated in any act that broke NFL rules. However, he did destroy his cell phone before it was used in the investigation.
The Patriots star was suspended by the NFL for the first four games of the 2016 season, while the franchise was handed a $1 million fine and forfeited two draft picks.
How long did Tom Brady play for the Patriots?
The former University of Michigan quarterback spent the first 20 seasons of his NFL career with the Patriots. He started 283 regular-season games and 41 games in the playoffs.
He won six Super Bowls throughout his two decades with the franchise, playing in nine with the franchise. He was the MVP of the Super Bowl four times in that stretch.
He's the team's all-time leader in passing yards (74,571) and touchdowns (541). Overall, he's the NFL's all-time leader in both categories (including playoffs) with 102,614 yards and 737 touchdowns.