Speaking at an event at Salem State on Thursday evening, Tom Brady assured the Massachusetts faithful that the New England Patriots' Super Bowl XLIX victory was "absolutely not" tainted in the wake of the Wells Report released this week.
Asked by reporter Jim Gray if the controversy over the footballs used in the AFC Championship Game has detracted from his joy of winning the Super Bowl, Brady offered the same answer, "Absolutely not."
"Because we earned and achieved everything that we got this year as a team," Brady continued. "I'm proud of that and the fans should be, too."
Brady entered the stage to a rousing ovation from Patriots fans in audience.
Gray began the event by asking Brady's reaction to the Wells Report.
"I don't have really any reaction, Jim," Brady responded. "Our owner commented on it yesterday. And it's only been 30 hours, so I haven't had much time to digest it fully. But when I do, I'll be sure to let you know how I feel about it."
Gray then asked Brady when he expects to address the issue publicly.
"Hopefully soon. Hopefully soon," Brady replied. "There's still a process that's going forth right now. Whenever it happens, it happens. I'll certainly want to be very comfortable in how I feel about the statement that I make."
Queried further by Gray, Brady reasoned that he has dealt with a lot of issues in the past.
"I dealt with this three months ago (leading up to the Super Bowl)," Brady said. "I've dealt with a lot of adversity over the course of my career and my life. ... In life, so much is about ups and downs. And certainly I accept my role as a public figure and I think a lot of it, you take the good with the bad. And dealing with different adversities in life, you just try to do the best you can do."
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