Bill Belechick and the prestigious New England Patriots found themselves in another scandal among the National Football League. From reading lips, to watching practices, and now to deflating footballs, the patriots have found themselves yet again in the hot seat.
The Patriots have again captured a berth to play in the Super Bowl, but at what cost? Officials from the Patriots AFC championship game found that the Patriots’ game balls were deflated about two psi below the league regulation. In fact, according to Reuters.com, 11 of the 12 game balls were found to be in this state of deflation.
League commissioner Roger Goodell made a statement on why the investigation is being pursued further.
“The goals of the investigation will be to determine the explanation for why footballs used in the game were not in compliance with the playing rules and specifically whether any noncompliance was the result of deliberate action. We have not made any judgments on these points and will not do so until we have concluded our investigation and considered all of the relevant evidence,” said Goodell (reuters.com).
If it is found that the Patriots did in fact deflate the game balls, there will be a penalty. According to the Boston Globe, the team could potentially lose many first round drafts for the upcoming seasons.
The league media asked Tom Brady, quarterback of the Patriots, what actually happened.
“I didn’t alter the balls in any way, I get the snap, I drop back, I throw the ball… that’s the extent of me touching the football,” said Brady on Businessinsider.com.