Tom Brady says he's ready to move on from Deflategate

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Updated: September 7, 2015

Daniel Popper

Tom Brady (c.) gives just enough answers to the media in his first session with the press since the Deflategate ruling.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady may have won his Deflategate appeal, but on Sunday, the Patriots quarterback looked defeated. Seven months of unrelenting scrutiny can do that to a man, even the Golden Boy with four Lombardi Trophies.

At his locker in Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon, Brady addressed the media and answered questions for the first time since Judge Richard M. Berman overturned commissioner Roger Goodell’s four-game suspension in an arbitration appeal hearing.

Digging his hands into the front pocket of a navy blue team hoodie, Brady put Deflategate to rest, sounding weathered but relieved to finally move on.

“It’s obviously been a long seven months for everybody, but I think now the goal is to focus on what my job is and what I need to go out there and do to help our team win,” said Brady, who will be in the field for the NFL season opener against the Steelers on Thursday night. “Everything that’s happened over the past seven months, obviously I had a lot of personal feelings, but I really don’t care to share many of those. I really care to think about what I need to do going forward.”

The aftershocks of this scandal, though, may continue to resonate through the lives of all those involved, including John Jastremski and Jim McNally, the two suspended Patriots employees charged with tampering with the now infamous AFC Championship Game balls.

Brady refused to comment directly on whether he’s been in contact with Jastremski, an assistant equipment manager, or McNally, a game-day assistant. But the pressure he and the employees have experienced is deep-seated.

“It’s been a very tough situation for everybody, and it’s put a lot of stress on everybody’s families, and I feel bad that anybody’s in the position that we’ve been put in,” Brady said. “Hopefully we can just keep learning from life experiences, and I certainly feel terrible for them that they’re not able to be with us right now.

“They’ve been, obviously, put through a lot, as my family has. And I think that’s a challenging part.”

The stress Brady refers to is likely related to his marriage to supermodel Gisele Bundchen, which has reportedly been unraveling amid the tensions of the offseason — officially sanctioned reports, announcements, suspensions, appeals, hearings and unprecedented nationwide media attention.

“You’ve got to always figure out how to overcome different obstacles you face. And part of it’s being mentally tough and part of it is compartmentalizing things and dealing with things when they’re really kind of at the forefront. And then when they’re not, you’ve got to put them someplace else and think of what your job is,” Brady said. “That’s a lot of what I’ve learned over the years playing this position. And certainly any time you’re somebody that’s in a public eye like I am, you deal with different things. And I think everybody in their life deals with different stresses, whatever they may be — financial or family stress or work stress. And you just do the best you can do.”

It’s worth noting that the process is not officially over. Goodell vowed to appeal Berman’s decision in a statement, to which Brady responded, “That’s their choice.”

That appeal will take months if not years. And the scandal that never ends will drag on. But at least Brady will be back on the field Thursday, when the Patriots will honor last year’s Super Bowl victory with a banner.

And after winning in the courtroom, Brady will once again have a chance to win on the field — no matter what he’s endured this offseason.

“I love football, I love this sports and I love playing in the NFL,” Brady said. “For the last 20 years I’ve been playing football this time of year, and it feels good to be able to do that again.” .

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