Commissioner of the National Football League Roger Goodell watches the pregame warms up prior to the start of the game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets at Ford Field on November 24, 2014 in Detroit, Michigan. The Bills defeated the Jets 38-3. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) Quarterback Tom Brady attends the welterweight unification championship bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao on May 2, 2015 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Roger Goodell isn't budging.
Speaking at the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, the NFL commissioner appears to have no plan to reduce the four-game suspension handed to New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for his role in the Deflategate scandal.
"The integrity of the game is the most important thing," Goodell told the Canton Repository when asked if the suspension will tarnish Brady's legacy. "The integrity of the game is something we will always protect. The rules apply to everybody. That is my job in particular, to make sure everyone from our players to our coaches, to our fans and our partners, that they recognize we're going to play by these sets of rules, and that's part of our values and standards."
After Brady's appeal of the penalty was denied by Goodell, the NFLPA took the matter to federal court, where they are trying to get Goodell's decision overturned.
"Listen, [Brady's] a great player and he's a great young man," Goodell said. "We issued the decision just last week. We're in the midst of litigation to . . . ensure that that's enforced the way we ruled on that, after a long process that is established in our collective bargaining agreement. That's something we'll play through."
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