Patriots fans jailed over Tom Brady sit-in at NFL office after deflategate verdict

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Felt Brady was 'railroaded' and then suspended after baseless accusations
Handcuffed themselves together and demanded to be arrested by NYPD
They were and are being held although formal charges have not been filed
Deflategate investigator Ted Wells also responded to critics on Tuesday
He denied anti-Patriots conspiracy and stated Brady's guilt was 'proven'
Brady added NFL Players Association lawyer Jeffrey Kessler to legal team
Kessler was called 'perpetual hemorrhoid on the posterior of the NFL'

Published: 22:44 EST, 12 May 2015 | Updated: 19:28 EST, 15 May 2015

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Four New England Patriots fans blitzed the NFL's Park Avenue headquarters to let the league know they wouldn't take the four-game suspension of quarterback Tom Brady sitting down... with a sit-in.

The fans, three of whom were wearing Brady jerseys, invaded the lobby, handcuffed themselves together and demanded to be arrested around 3.30pm on Tuesday because they felt the Patriots and Brady 'were railroaded' and the punishment was based on 'accusations with no real evidence'.

Their subsequent arrests, which were made by NYPD officers about 15 minutes later, came after the man behind the probe that led to Brady's suspension and a $1million fine responded to critics.

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Four New England Patriots fans staged a 'sit-in' at the NFL's Park Avenue headquarters on Tuesday

Fans David Portnoy, John Feitelberg, Hank Lockwood, and Paul Gulczynski were arrested by the NYPD

They handcuffed themselves together and demanded to be arrested because of the suspension of Tom Brady

Ted Wells fired back at the criticism levied by the Patriots, Brady's agent Don Yee and others about his report on the Deflategate scandal and denied the notion his findings were biased.

Brady was suspended for four games by the NFL

The report by Wells and his law firm, which found it was 'more probable than not' the Super Bowl MVP knew two New England employees were deflating footballs on his behalf, led the NFL to dispense punishment.

In addition to suspending Brady and handing the Patriots the largest fine in league history, the NFL also stripped the team of two draft picks, including a valuable first-round selection.

After news of the steep punishment broke on Monday night, David Portnoy, John Feitelberg, Hank Lockwood, and Paul Gulczynski of sports blog Barstool Sports decided to take action and protest.

Before invading the headquarters and being taken into custody, they picketed outside the building with signs reading 'Free Brady', 'Fire Goodell' and 'Hate us cause they ain't us.'

Portnoy, who founded the website, wanted to ask Goodell 'the questions he refuses to answer' and call the commissioner out 'for running the NFL like a dictatorship.'

A spokesman for the NFL said the league had no comment about the arrests, according to Boston.com.

(Video courtesy: Joe Guagliardo)

They picketed outside the NFL with signs reading 'Free Brady', 'Fire Goodell' and 'Hate us cause they ain't us'

The protesters have not been formally charged and are expected to be held until Wednesday afternoon

Chris Spagnuolo, Barstool's director of business development, told Mail Online: 'Barstool Sports' team feels the Patriots and Tom Brady in particular were railroaded by the process.

'The punishment is based on accusations with no real evidence and, fortunately, Barstool has a platform to make people realize how unfair Roger Goodell's rulings were rather than continue to vilify the Patriots and their fans.'

The Patriot protesters have not been formally charged and are expected to be held until Wednesday afternoon.

Ted Wells (seen in 1998) handled the investigation

Spagnuolo added: 'If our guys weren't currently in jail, I think they'd just want Tom and the rest of the Patriots to know that they'll always defend the wall on behalf of the Pats no matter what the consequence.

'Defending the wall comes down to one thing: Standing up for what's true and right in the face of baseless accusations and seemingly outright lies from the NFL.'

During his conference call, Wells responded to assertions that his findings were slanted because of his firm's relationship with the NFL and denied there was any sort of anti-Patriots conspiracy.

Wells said: 'It is wrong to criticize my independence just because you disagree with my findings,

'In my mind, the NFL certainly wasn't hoping that I would come back with a report that would find that something happened wrong with the Patriots or Tom Brady.

'They wanted me to get to the bottom of the facts.'

He said of the allegations against Brady: 'If I were sitting on a jury, I would have checked the box that said, 'Proven.'

'I believe the conclusions have been proven.'

Before the suspension, Brady and wife Gisele Bundchen attended a benefit at the Met in New York on May 5

A friend said: ''If our guys weren't currently in jail, I think they'd just want Tom and the rest of the Patriots to know that they'll always defend the wall on behalf of the Pats no matter what the consequence

Brady clearly does not agree and he has added Jeffrey Kessler to his legal team.

Kessler, who previously represented New England coach Bill Belichick and the NFL Players Association, was once described as the 'perpetual hemorrhoid on the posterior of the NFL.'

ESPN's Adam Schefter he received a text from 'somebody connected to the [Deflategate] story in some way', according to CSNE.

It stated: 'Brady's team is unreal I guess . . . Talented, big-name lawyers. Yee, Kessler, etc. Prediction = Won't miss a game.'

Jeffrey Kessler, a lawyer for the NFL Players Association, was hired by Brady and will join his legal team

Bundchen was seen leaving a gym in Boston, Massachusetts, the morning of the protest after a workout

Spagnuolo also feels Wells did not exactly meet the burden of proof.

He said: 'If Ted Wells believes his case was 'proven,' he needs to work on his writing skills because nothing about his report concretely proves any of these allegations, particularly against an NFL legend like Tom Brady.

'Ted Wells will forever be remembered for his wishy-washy claims of the allegations being 'more probable than not.'

While the Barstool employees were headed to NFL headquarters, billboards ripping Brady were being put up on the New Jersey turnpike.