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As I sit here and begin to write this I can sense a feeling of many, many Australian New England Patriots fans rolling their eyes.
What has been revealed in the last 24 hours has pushed ‘deflategate’ into the headlines once again.
For those not in the know, back on the 18th January 2015 when the New England Patriots faced off against the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game – a game that decides who goes to the Super Bowl – Indianapolis Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson intercepted a pass from New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady.
Jackson would then take the ball over to the Colts sideline when a matter of the balls pressure came up. Conversations were had.
Officials got involved and after the Patriots won that game 45-7 and go on to the Super Bowl, they would be accused of deflating footballs to enable Tom Brady to grip the ball easier therefore giving him an apparent advantage.
NFL rules state that game balls must be inflated to between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds of air – but was this the case in the AFC Championship Game?
Leading up to Super Bowl XLIX, ‘deflategate’ became a major talking point and the New England Patriots were once again accused of cheating. They were embroiled in the ‘spygate’ saga back in 2007.
Tom Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick would deny any involvement in deflating footballs, with Tom Brady declaring “this isn’t ISIS”, referring to the Islamic state terrorist group.
The England Patriots of course would go on to win Super Bowl XLIX 28-24 over the Seattle Seahawks and we hadn’t heard much, if anything, until now regarding the saga.
Now, a report carried out by independent investigator Ted Wells has been submitted to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell – and the 243 page report includes some interesting findings to say the least.
The two main findings are that it is more probable than not that Jim McNally – official locker room attendant for the Patriots, and John Jastremski, a Patriots equipment assistant, deliberately deflated game balls after they were inspected by the referees in that game.
The other, and perhaps more damning, was that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was “at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of McNally and Jastremski in deflating game balls”.
It’s worth noting here that other Patriots personnel were not aware of what was going on, according to the report.
Text messages were discovered that could also point towards Tom Brady knowing what was going on and perhaps having more significant involvement. Also video evidence showed Jim McNally take two bags of game balls from the officials’ locker room to a bathroom, where he would remain for 1 minute and 40 seconds before taking them onto the field of play.
Investigators also interviewed Tom Brady and requested documents and electronic information – text messages and emails – but he declined to make these available to investigators. Why?
So two big questions are likely to come out of this, first being what does this do for Tom Brady’s legacy? He’s a sure-fire first ballot hall of famer, a four-time Super Bowl winner, three-time Super Bowl MVP and two-time NFL league MVP.
Patriots fans have already come out and said that just about everyone else is a ‘hater’, but the report is there for public viewing so make of it what you will.
Although the report refers to evidence being “more probable than not” the Patriots hardly have a history of being squeaky clean when it comes to following NFL rules.
This does have a big effect on Tom Brady’s legacy. Before all this I never had him down as the greatest quarterback to play the game. My opinion was always that Joe Montana deserved that distinction, but that topic is for another time.
Will Brady and the organisation be punished for their actions?
If they are fined, how much? There is talk of possible suspension and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell himself has already stated the league will consider disciplinary action. Only time will tell what action that will be.
The NFL will want to be careful in their approach to this and will want to ensure that any punishment delivered is spot on, especially after the apparent mishandling of the Ray Rice incident.
As for Brady and the Patriots – tough times are abound. As for Brady himself, everyone but Patriots fans will be putting a rather large asterisk next to all his accomplishments.
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