Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti swears he’s not trying to strong-arm NFL commissioner Roger Goodell when it comes to Tom Brady.
Over the weekend, ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio named Bisciotti and the Indianapolis Colts’ Jim Irsay as two owners pressuring Goodell into upholding Brady’s four-game suspension for his alleged role in Deflategate.
“(By potentially reducing the suspension) youâre angering some of the hard-core owners out there,” Paolantonio reported. “I know who they are and Iâm gonna name ’em right now: Jim Irsay of the Colts, Steve Bisciotti of the Ravens and others in the AFC who believe the Patriots have gotten away with murder for years and have not been publicly punished properly.”
Bisciotti responded to the report with a statement Sunday.
“I have not and will not put any pressure on the commissioner or anyone representing the NFL office to take action in what everyone is calling ‘Deflategate,’ ” Bisciotti said. “The story circulating that I have put pressure on Roger (Goodell) is 100 percent wrong. The reports are unfair to Robert Kraft, who is an honorable person, and to his franchise.
“Let’s talk about football and the start of training camps. Fans and people like me want the issue resolved now.”
ESPN.com made an update to a story about Deflategate on Sunday night, saying a “league source tells ESPN that Bisciotti has not spoken about Deflategate publicly or privately.”
Thumbnail photo via Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports Images
