New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has heavily criticised the NFL and apologised to the team’s fans after previously accepting the penalties for the franchise’s involvement in ‘Deflategate’.

In May, Kraft publicly gave up his personal fight against the allegations lobbed at the Patriots and complied with a $1 million fine and loss of a 2016 first-round draft pick and 2017 fourth-round selection for the team.

“I was wrong to put my faith in the league,” Kraft said on Sunday in a press conference. “Six months removed from the AFC Championship Game, the league still has no hard evidence of anybody doing anything to tamper with the PSI levels of footballs. I continue to believe and unequivocally support Tom Brady.

“I, first and foremost, need to apologize to our fans because I truly believe what I did in May – given the actual evidence of the situation, and the league’s history on discipline matters – would make it much easier for the league to exonerate Tom Brady. Unfortunately I was wrong.”

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Patriots coach Bill Belichick followed Kraft on the podium with training camp commencing, but kept mum on the situation, only saying: “It’s already been addressed.”

The Patriots as a team released a statement follow- ing Goodell’s decision to sustain Brady’s four-game suspension on Tuesday, saying: “Given all of this, it is incomprehensible as to why the league is attempting to destroy the reputation of one of its greatest players and representatives.”