Trump says Brady ‘totally innocent’ in Deflategate

It’s no presidential pardon but Donald Trump says New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is an “honorable guy” and “totally innocent” in the Deflategate scandal that led to an NFL ban.
The comments from the US president-elect were unveiled in a video clip by TMZ Sports of a Fox News documentary on Trump that aired Friday.
They were made during a September 15 interview at Trump’s home. At that time, two months ahead of the US election, Brady was serving a four-game suspension without pay for his role in the under-inflating of footballs used in a 2015 playoff game.
An NFL investigation found Brady had knowledge that balls slightly deflated below minimum mandatory levels were used in the American Conference final against Indianapolis. The Patriots won that game and went on to capture the Super Bowl, Brady’s fourth career NFL crown.
Brady fought a suspension in court for more than a year before finally dropping the legal fight and accepting the suspension to open this campaign. The Patriots went 3-1 without him to start the season.
“I think Tom is totally innocent,” Trump said in the interview. “I think Tom, first of all I know him and he’s an honorable guy, and I’m with him all the way.”
Brady said before the election it would be “great” for Trump to win but backed off political comments after the vote, saying his wife, model Gisele Bundchen, would not let him make political public comments any more.
“He’s a friend of mine, he’s a great guy, and he’s a great athlete obviously, but he’s a winner,” Trump said of Brady.
Brady had said he would reveal who he voted for in the election but later told Boston radio station WEEI: “I’ve got other things to worry about. Just speaking with my family, it’s a bad idea. I know I told you I would, and then after I told you I would I changed my mind.”
Brady, 39, is 4-1 since returning from the ban, having completed 72.9 percent of his passes for 1,635 yards and 12 touchdowns with only one interception.
At 7-2, the Patriots share the American Conference’s best record with Oakland and Kansas City. All three are one game behind Dallas (8-1) for the best mark in the NFL.
New England play at San Francisco (1-8) on Sunday.