djbayko said:
Bakahump should have like, said that then. He didn't come close to saying that.
Every time this topic comes up, someone very passionately twists it into an argument that was not being made. Here is the post to which I replied to start this whole mess.
And all I said was that it's not at all clear Wells had access to the phones of all other individuals who were party to relevant texts.
Edit: People here are talking past each other because of an unwillingness to see that the following 3 statements can all be true at the same time:
1) Ted Wells did not have access to all texts he wanted for his investigation.
2) Tom Brady was justified in not giving up his phone or contents of his phone.
3) Tom Brady might be in a better position today if he had given access to contents of his phone (at least PR-wise, if not in arbitration and court).
1. Who were the other people he wanted clarification of texts from? If it was an NFL(or team) Employee...then Wells had mandate to get those. Thats how he got the Doritio Twins phones in the first place.
If it was Joe Smoe...private citizen.....then there should have been a text from him saying "Hey guys....make sure we are below 12.5 because thats how Tom likes it" to the Patriot issued Cell phones. That has not leaked.....and if it did exist on the Equipment guys phones (which Wells had total access to) I believe it would have leaked as it would be damning. I also believe that the NFL would have said "THE reason we wanted Toms phone was to see if he had any conversations with Joe Smoe asking him to direct the Equipment guys to deflate balls".
To want or need Bradys phone you need to believe that one of the following took place.
Dorito Twins <--> Joe Smoe <-->Tom Brady. (which is the current reason for "why we needed the phone")
Or
Dorito Twins <--> Tom Brady. (which was obviously not there or there would be a record on the Twins phone)
There is no Evidence, leak or even rumor of a "Smoe". I find that odd considering how hard the NFL has worked to win the PR battle.....if it was there wouldnt we have a hint.
The absence of that leak leads me to believe there was nothing on the Employee phones (Other then the ambigious "deflator texts" between themselves). Nothing from Brady directing it (or this would be a open and shut case) and nothing from a "Smoe" which would have been part of the PR battle (and or Wells report).
SO if not on the phone....now your looking for not only "Smoe" but also how Smoe communicated with the equipment guys. The NFL would then need to make that connection and should be able to do so....even without Bradys phone. Again there has not been any mention of Smoe and Meetings in person or communications in emails or in Letters or by telegraph etc etc to the Twins. Which makes me believe "there is nothing there" re: the phone.
There comes a point where I assume that even if Brady had been part of a conspiracy that it would be too complicated to have been put in place.
Remember.....this supposedly wasnt a big deal....nor was it really monitored by the league....yet now we have to believe that Brady, recruited a middle man and had him use a non electronic form of communication all for deniability sake for something that "wasnt a big deal" just in case the league you know someday gets a hair across its ass about this.
For me that starts to get far fetched. Show me the evidence of a Smoe....then tell me how he is connected (friend,assistant, bodyman, cousin etc etc) to Brady. Then I can see why you need Bradys phone.