One day after Tom Brady's four-game suspension was reinstated by a federal appeals court, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell weighed in on the ruling.
"We're obviously pleased with the court's decision, we think that was the right decision," Goodell told Bloomberg TV's David Westin on Tuesday. "They were very firm in their decision that that was within our authority and the judgments were based on solid facts. So we're pleased with that and we hope we can move forward from here."
Brady was originally suspended last offseason for violating the league's policy on the integrity of the game after independent investigator Ted Wells found that it was "more probable than not" that the New England Patriots quarterback was "at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities" regarding the deflation of Patriots footballs used in the January 2015 AFC Championship Game against the Colts.
The Patriots were also fined $1 million and forced to forfeit this year's first-round draft pick and a fourth-round selection in 2017. That led some to believe Goodell wields too much power over league disciplinary matters, but the Commissioner doesn't agree.
"Well, David, you know, this is something we've had in our constitution of bylaws, in our collective bargaining agreements for decades," Goodell said. "We think it's important that the Commissioner protect the integrity of the game. That you can't entrust that to somebody who has no understanding of our business and, in fact, the appellate court yesterday reaffirmed that. So, we think this is an important element of our success. We, obviously, have changed our discipline process through the years and we will continue to do that if we think it's in the best interest of the NFL."
