After more than 14 weeks, the NFL investigation of the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots ended with the release of a 243-page report Wednesday. The results of the probe into Deflategate? There was no concrete conclusion by attorney Ted Wells, but there are plenty of fingers pointed at quarterback Tom Brady.
The Patriots were accused of using underinflated footballs during a victory over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC championship game. The team – and most notably, Brady – became a punch line before defeating the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
questionable moments in patriots' history
2015: DEFLATEGATE
Employees are found to likely have deflated game balls below NFL standards in a playoff game with the Colts.
2007: SPYGATE
After multiple accusations, the league disciplines the Pats for videotaping Jets’ practices.
2004: PLAY STEALING?
Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison calls out the Patriots for stealing signals. “I should have another ring. We were the best team in football in 2004, but the Patriots … stole our signals and picked up 90 percent of our blitzes.”
Marshall Faulk
2002: PLAY STEALING?
St. Louis running back Marshall Faulk claims the Pats spied on their practice and got info on plays the team had not yet even run. “It’s either the best coaching in the world when you come up with situations you had never seen before. Or you’d seen it and knew what to do.”
1990: SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Zeke Mowatt is fined $12,500, two other players $5,000 each and the team $50,000 for a locker-room incident degrading to Lisa Olson, a reporter for The Boston Herald who charged that several players – Mowatt chief among them – sexually abused her verbally and taunted her while she tried to conduct an interview.
Raymond Berry
1986: DRUG PROBLEMS
At least five Patriots have a serious drug problem and five to seven more are suspected of having a problem. On Jan. 28, 1986, two days after New England lost 46-10 to Chicago in the Super Bowl, Coach Raymond Berry told the Los Angeles Times: “There are at least five players we know … and five to seven more we suspect very strongly.”
1982: SNOWPLOW GAME
With 4:45 remaining in a scoreless game, the Patriots drive to the Miami 16. On fourth down and snow covering much of the field, a man named Mark Henderson drives a sweeper onto the field and veers three yards wide across the 23, where Matt Cavanaugh would hold the ball for the place-kicker, John Smith.
Brady, who feigned ignorance after the scandal broke, seemed to put the issue behind him with his fourth Super Bowl victory. As the investigation dragged, the controversy faded from the public consciousness. But the Wells report, while failing to directly indict Brady, does raise more questions and indicates there was wrongdoing by team employees.
“It is more probable than not that New England Patriots personnel participated in violations of the Playing Rules and were involved in a deliberate effort to circumvent the rules,” the report states.
Specifically, it says that it was “more than probable” that Patriots employees Jim McNally and John Jastremski “participated in a deliberate effort to release air from Patriots game balls after the balls were examined by the referee.” McNally was the officials’ locker room attendant and Jastremski an equipment assistant.
Transcripts of text messages between the employees indicate Brady requested game balls be deflated below the NFL-mandated minimum of 12.5 pounds per square inch.
“Based on the evidence, it also is our view that it is more probable than not that Tom Brady … was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of McNally and Jastremski involving the release of air from Patriots game balls,” the report states.
The report exonerates Coach Bill Belichick and his staff, head equipment manager Dave Schoenfeld and team ownership: “We do not believe there was any wrongdoing or knowledge of wrongdoing” by any of the parties. Brady, though, is presented as not particularly forthcoming.
“During his interview, Brady denied any knowledge of or involvement in any efforts to deflate game balls after the pre-game inspection by the game officials,” the report states. “He claimed that prior to the events surrounding the AFC Championship Game, he did not know McNally’s name or anything about McNally’s game-day responsibilities, including whether McNally had any role relating to game balls or the game officials.
“We found these claims not plausible and contradicted by other evidence. In fact, during his interview, Jastremski acknowledged that Brady knew McNally and McNally’s role as Officials Locker Room attendant. Similarly, McNally told NFL Security that he had been personally told by Brady of Brady’s inflation level preference.”
Could Brady or other personnel face punishment?
A statement issued by Commissioner Roger Goodell indicated NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent will “consider what steps to take in light of the report.”
“Both with respect to possible disciplinary action and to any changes in protocols that are necessary to avoid future incidents of this type,” Goodell said. “At the same time, we will continue our efforts vigorously to protect the integrity of the game and promote fair play at all times.”
Minutes after the reports was made public, Patriots owner Robert Kraft issued a defiant 462-word statement in which he reiterated his belief that the Patriots had done “nothing wrong or inappropriate,” echoing what he told reporters at the Super Bowl on Jan. 26.
Kraft contends the ball lost air because of atmospheric conditions. The Patriots’ 45-7 victory over the Colts on Jan. 18 came on a cool night.
Eleven of 12 footballs were under the inflation threshold. Both Belichick and Kraft attributed the deflation to science.
Kraft, who has shared a strong relationship with Goodell, said in January that he expected an apology from the league. On Wednesday, he was critical of the overall process.
“We have cooperated and patiently awaited its outcome,” Kraft said. “To say we are disappointed in its findings, which do not include any incontrovertible or hard evidence of deliberate deflation of footballs at the AFC Championship Game, would be a gross understatement. In addition, given our level of cooperation throughout the process, I was offended by the comments made in the Wells Report in reference to not making an individual available for a follow-up interview. What the report fails to mention is that he had already been interviewed four times and we felt the fifth request for access was excessive for a part-time game day employee who has a full-time job with another employer.
“While I respect the independent process of the investigation, the time, effort and resources expended to reach this conclusion are incomprehensible to me. Knowing that there is no real recourse available, fighting the league and extending this debate would prove to be futile. We understand and greatly respect the responsibility of being one of 32 in this league and, on that basis, we will accept the findings of the report and take the appropriate actions based on those findings as well as any discipline levied by the league.”
As the NFL investigation began, Belichick and Brady held press conferences in which each pleaded ignorance.
The team avoided questions about the investigation in the days leading up to the Super Bowl.
The Wells report states Brady spent 25 minutes, 2 seconds on the phone with Jastremski on Jan. 19. They also exchanged 12 text messages.
While Brady was interviewed by NFL investigators, he refused to furnish email or text message documents. But text messages between McNally and Jastremski from May, October and January suggest Brady requested the balls be deflated, and that the quarterback provided McNally with shoes and signed footballs as payment for deflating the balls.
In a May 2014 text message exchange, McNally refers to himself as “the deflator.”
Also, the report states video evidence and witness interviews determined McNally took the game football from the officials’ locker room and entered a bathroom with the game balls. He remained in the bathroom “for approximately one minute and forty seconds. He then left the bathroom and took the bags of game balls to the field.”
McNally is 48 and has worked at Gillette Stadium for 10 years, overseeing the officials’ locker room since 2008. Jastremski is 35 and has worked for the Patriots since 2001.
Brady will be forced to answer more questions when he next meets the media. On Wednesday, his father told USA Today that his son is being railroaded.
“I don’t have any doubt about my son’s integrity – not one bit,” Tom Brady Sr. said. “In this country, you’re innocent until proven guilty. It just seems Tommy is now guilty until proven innocent. … This thing is so convoluted. They say that possibly – possibly – he was aware of this. The reality is if you can’t prove he did it, then he’s innocent, and lay off him. That’s the bottom line.
“The league had to cover themselves. The reality is they had no conclusive evidence. This was Framegate right from the beginning.”
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