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Tom Brady Declares Innocence and Explains Cellphone Destruction

On its often twisted six-month journey, the N.F.L.’s case against Tom Brady and the Patriots has included a coach lecturing the news media on the physics of air pressure, an influential owner lashing out against the league he helps run and a star player denying all charges with a smile.

On Tuesday, Commissioner Roger Goodell added a new wrinkle when he upheld Brady’s four-game suspension for his role in the deliberate deflation of balls used in the A.F.C. championship game: the destruction of potential evidence, a cellphone with about 10,000 text messages.