The Baltimore Ravens deny they tipped off the Indianapolis Colts about underinflated footballs before the AFC championship game.

Court papers released Tuesday in New England quarterback Tom Brady’s lawsuit against the NFL over his four-game suspension show that the Ravens contacted the Colts about deflated footballs used in Baltimore’s playoff loss to the Patriots the previous week. But the Ravens said Wednesday that was not true.

“Prior to the AFC championship game, no one from the Ravens talked to the Colts about deflated footballs,” the Ravens said in a statement. “We knew nothing of deflated footballs. (Coach) John Harbaugh has been consistent in his answers to reporters about this since he was first asked … at the Super Bowl.”

The court filings included a section in which Colts equipment manager Sean Sullivan said Ravens special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg called Indianapolis head coach Chuck Pagano about K-balls, which are used in the kicking game only. Sullivan said the Ravens were given new footballs instead of the ones properly prepared.

Pagano was an assistant coach with the Ravens before getting the top job in Indianapolis in 2012.

Harbaugh said he spoke to Pagano on Tuesday night and asked him again if he and Rosburg talked about anything related to footballs. Pagano’s reply, Harbaugh said, was “totally false.”

“We’ve answered the questions from the beginning to the end very simply,” Harbaugh added. “Our ‘yes’ is yes; our ‘no’ is no. We’ve answered questions directly and honestly and straightforwardly from the start. And that’s the way we’re going to do it. The rest of it, I couldn’t care less about, really. I haven’t cared at all about deflated footballs or whether they did something wrong or anything else. We’re on to 2015. We stand on every word we said.”

Brady was suspended by the NFL and the Patriots were fined $1 million and stripped of two draft choices in what has become known as “Deflategate.” Brady appealed and Commissioner Roger Goodell upheld the suspension.

The players’ union and Brady then filed the lawsuit, which is being handled by a U.S. District Court in New York. The union’s filings were made public Tuesday.


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