They don't call the man Tom Terrific for nothing.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was in New York on Tuesday for the appeal hearing of the four-game suspension handed down to him by the NFL in the wake of the Deflategate scandal and the findings of the Wells Report.
While rumors swirled as the hearing actually commenced that Brady's decision as to whether to be more forthcoming or not could ultimately decide the outcome and that the entire hearing could potentially prove moot as Brady and the NFLPA are potentially considering taking the issue to court and filing a temporary injunction so that he could be on the field with his teammates for Week One, it seems the hearing actually may have gone fairly well for the charming future Hall of Famer, per an ESPN report.
"No details of Tom Brady's appeal of a four-game suspension were immediately available after a 10-hour hearing, but a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter that 'Tom Brady's greatest ally today was Tom Brady.'
"Sources also told Schefter that Brady came off as very genuine, earnest and persuasive, addressing every issue raised in the league-sanctioned Wells report during Tuesday's lengthy meeting."
According to Schefter, one of his sources even went so far as to call it "an A-plus performance."
For Brady - and Patriots fans - this is likely great news, especially considering the burden of proof for the appeal hearing had switched to Brady and the NFLPA.
Likely aiding Brady's case was a sworn affidavit sent to the league by Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is currently on a trip to Israel.
"One source said the affidavit was very compelling, and had 'almost a holy feel to it.'"
Key elements of Brady's appeal were his questioning of who handed down the four-game suspension - NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who refused to recuse himself from hearing Brady's appeal, has said that league executive Troy Vincent was not given his disciplinary authority, but that he simply "concurred" with Vincent's determination of sanctions - and whether or not science supported the findings of Ted Wells' report.
