The Sports Xchange

The National Football League announced Tuesday that commissioner Roger Goodell has upheld the four-game suspension imposed on New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as a result of the “Deflategate” investigation.

In announcing the ruling on Brady’s appeal from June 23, Goodell determined that new information disclosed by Brady and his representatives warranted the suspension to be upheld. That includes Brady directing that his cell phone that was used for the four months leading up to his meeting with independent investigator Ted Wells on March 6 be destroyed.

“He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone,” the league said in a statement. “During the four months that the cell phone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device. The destruction of the cell phone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady.

“Based on the Wells Report and the evidence presented at the hearing, Commissioner Goodell concluded in his decision that Brady was aware of, and took steps to support?, the actions of other team employees to deflate game footballs below the levels called for by the NFL’s Official Playing Rules. The commissioner found that Brady’s deliberate destruction of potentially relevant evidence went beyond a mere failure to cooperate in the investigation and supported a finding that he had sought to hide evidence of his own participation in the underlying scheme to alter the footballs.”

Brady and the NFL Players Association reportedly have been prepared to fight any decision that included being suspended for games.

With Tuesday’s ruling by Goodell, Brady is currently slated to miss the Patriots’ first four regular-season games: the Sept. 10 home opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sept. 20 at the Buffalo Bills, Sept. 27 at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Oct. 11 at the Dallas Cowboys. He would be eligible to return in Week 5 at the Indianapolis Colts in a Sunday night game against the team that helped pave the wave for the “Deflategate” investigation after it was determined the Patriots used underinflated footballs during the AFC Championship Game last season.

There has been speculation that Brady and the NFLPA will take the league to court if any part of the suspension was upheld, and could petition a federal judge to intervene on their behalf.