Tom Brady: ‘We Have All Lost’

Tom Brady addressed Deflategate publicly for the first time since Judge Richard Berman vacated his four-game suspension.

“While I am pleased to be eligible to play,” the reigning Super Bowl MVP wrote, “I am sorry our league had to endure this. I don’t think it has been good for our sport—to a large degree, we have all lost.”

Perhaps no one lost so much as Roger Goodell, again found in violation of rules in pursuit of suspected rule-breakers. The commissioner, despite attending every NFL opener since becoming commissioner in 2006, will not travel to watch Tom Brady play next week at Gillette Stadium. Mentioning his thanks to his friends, family, fans, teammates, union, and, of course, Judge Richard Berman, Brady’s conciliatory message reads especially geared to Roger Goodell even though his name never appears. The NFL commissioner vowed on Thursday to appeal Berman’s ruling against the league.

The Facebook message offered an olive branch to Goodell and the NFL:

I love the NFL. It is a privilege to be a member of the NFL community and I will always try to do my best in representing my team and the league in a way that would make all members of this community proud. I look forward to the competition on the playing field and I hope the attention of NFL fans can return to where it belongs—on the many great players and coaches who work so hard every week, and sacrifice so much, to make this game great. Most importantly, I look forward to representing the New England Patriots on Thursday night in our season opener. I hope to make all of our fans proud this year … and beyond!

The New England Patriots kick off the NFL season on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.