DeflateGate: NFLPA's DeMaurice Smith Talks Tom Brady's Appeal

DeMaurice Smith, the Executive Director of the NFL Players Association, took to the airwaves to discuss New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's appeal. He was not happy.

Smith noted that he has not heard back from the NFL with regards to the request for Commissioner Roger Goodell to remove himself from Brady's appeals process, and that he would soon increase his pressure on the league for a response. There is no set date for Brady's appeal hearing.

The relationship between Smith and Goodell could be considered "icy" if this conference was true to Smith's thoughts.

"It's not my job to trust him [Goodell]," Smith stated. "It's my job to represent our players."

Smith addressed both the inconsistencies in the report, as well as the questionable integrity from the side of the owners and the league.

"I think that the Wells Report delivered exactly what the client wanted," Smith said. "You can't really have credibility just because you slap the word independent on a piece of paper."

When asked about the process of evaluation and penalty, Smith didn't hold back any punches.

"You can't just make it up as you go," Smith said. "Coming up with a new excuse every time that their practice doesn't fit into an established precedent doesn't make the process credible- it doesn't make the process fair."

Smith highlighted three cases with the owners- Colts owner Jim Irsay's arrest and connection to a person's overdose and death, and Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Vikings owner Zygi Wilf both involved in large scale fraud- where the league generally looked the other way (apart from Irsay's 6 game suspension), even though these incidents are easily more egregious. Smith said that there was a credibility gap between reality and what the Commissioner presents as a penalty.

This conference doesn't mean anything for the outcome of Brady's appeal, but it does imply that his corner has plenty of support.