--- description: A 72-year-old woman used her obituary to declare Patriots quarterback Tom Brady innocent in Deflategate. title: This Woman Declared From Beyond the Grave That Tom Brady Is Innocent image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c4342893d6dda19/69885181e20a878a61a8b806/tom-brady7.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Football](/tag/football/) ## Football Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Woman Declared From Beyond the Grave That Tom Brady Is Innocent  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 24, 2015 3:26 PM CUT  New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady gestures during an event at Salem State University in Salem, Mass., on May 7, 2015. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady gestures during an event at Salem State University in Salem, Mass., on May 7, 2015.Charles Krupa—AP  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 24, 2015 3:26 PM CUT A die-hard New England Patriots fan used her obituary to speak out in support of Tom Brady, the suspended NFL quarterback tangled up in the [Deflategate](http://time.com/3854906/tom-brady-nfl-suspension-deflategate-patriots/ "undefined") controversy. “She would also like us to set the record straight for her: Brady is innocent!!” the family of Patricia M. Shong, 72, wrote in the Massachusetts woman’s obituary, published Thursday in the [Worcester _Telegram & Gazette_.](http://www.telegram.com/article/20150523/NEWS/150529531 "undefined") “That’s who my mother was,” said Shong’s daughter, Tracy Plante. “She was a big Patriots fan and it was something that defined her. She was very much a homebody and she always watched the Patriots on television.” “It’s sad when someone dies, but we wanted everyone to remember our mother with a smile on their face,” Plante added. “We knew everyone would get a kick out of it. My mother certainly went out with a bang, I guess, because a lot of people are going to remember her for this.” **Read next:** [_Why the Tom Brady Suspension Is Ridiculous_](http://time.com/3854906/tom-brady-nfl-suspension-deflategate-patriots/ "undefined") \[[Worcester _Telegram & Gazette_](http://www.telegram.com/article/20150523/NEWS/150529531 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3895274/tom-brady-deflategate/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3895274/tom-brady-deflategate/"},"headline":"This Woman Declared From Beyond the Grave That Tom Brady Is Innocent","datePublished":"2015-05-24T15:26:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:35:41.136Z","description":"Check out this Patriots fan's obituary","url":"https://time.com/3895274/tom-brady-deflategate/","keywords":["Football"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c4342893d6dda19/69885181e20a878a61a8b806/tom-brady7.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c4342893d6dda19/69885181e20a878a61a8b806/tom-brady7.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady gestures during an event at Salem State University in Salem, Mass.","caption":"New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady gestures during an event at Salem State University in Salem, Mass.","creditText":"Charles Krupa—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/football/","name":"Football"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3895274/tom-brady-deflategate/","name":"This Woman Declared From Beyond the Grave That Tom Brady Is Innocent"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"This Is What Physics Says About Deflategate","description":"Ainissa Ramirez, physicist and author of Newton's Football, talks through why weather can't explain deflate-gate","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/TECrbcbF/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-01-22T23:26:06.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/TECrbcbF.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3895274/tom-brady-deflategate/","duration":"PT1M57S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3895274/tom-brady-deflategate/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```