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          New England Patriots

          Tom Brady and his phone explained

          • Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterJul 29, 2015, 09:05 AM
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              Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. You can follow Reiss on Twitter at @MikeReiss.
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          Here's what you need to know about New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and what's next for his team:

          1. Patriots coach Bill Belichick will hold his first news conference of training camp at 10 a.m. ET. It marks the first news conference from a high-ranking Patriots official since NFL commissioner Roger Goodell upheld Brady's four-game suspension on Tuesday. At 2 p.m. ET, Patriots owner Robert Kraft is scheduled to make an appearance as part of the NHL's "Winter Classic" news conference at Gillette Stadium.

          2. In his 20-page opinion to uphold Brady's four-game suspension, Goodell introduced new information that Brady had instructed that the cell phone he used from November 2014 to around March 6, 2015 -- the day he was interviewed by Ted Wells -- be destroyed. Goodell said this information was brought to him by Brady and his attorneys on June 18, five days before his appeal hearing. This information and "destruction of relevant evidence" was a catalyst, Goodell said, for upholding the four-game suspension.

          3. Brady released a statement via his Facebook page on Wednesday morning saying that he "did nothing wrong" and "I replaced my broken Samsung phone with a new iPhone 6 AFTER my attorneys made it clear to the NFL that my actual phone device would not be subjected to investigation under ANY circumstances."

          4. As part of settlement talks, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported the NFL told Brady that if he acknowledged that two Patriots equipment men were doing something illegal, and if he acknowledged that he didn't cooperate with the league, the league would be willing to reduce his suspension to two or maybe even one game. Brady declined to agree to the offer, which as one source said, "tells you how Tom feels about this case."

          5. The Patriots issued a strongly worded statement that lashed out at the NFL and Goodell for upholding Brady's suspension with "no hard evidence of wrongdoing." In the statement, the Patriots said, "We continue to unequivocally believe in and support Tom Brady."

          6. Brady's agent, Don Yee, also released a fiery statement.

          7. The NFL Players Association did, too.

          8. Brady authorized the NFL Players Association to appeal his case in federal court, sources tell ESPN's Jim Trotter, where Brady is expected to seek an injunction that would allow him to play while his case works its way through the courts.

          9. Brady said in his statement he will not give up on the case. "I respect the Commissioners authority, but he also has to respect the CBA and my rights as a private citizen. I will not allow my unfair discipline to become a precedent for other NFL players without a fight."

          10. The Patriots' first official practice of training camp is scheduled for Thursday at 9:15 a.m. ET.