Baller Alert Entertainment & Lifestyle
Just when you thought the whole Deflate-gate controversy was over and done with, guess what? It’s baaack…and with a vengeance. This time, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady might even be facing some discipline for his role in the deflated game balls.
After the whole controversy happened back in January, the NFL hired an independent attorney, Ted Wells, to investigate whether or not the Patriots had intentionally deflated the game balls during the AFC Championship game. After a few months of looking into the matter, he released his findings in a report, stating that “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 specifically identifies two Patriots employees, Jim McNally, Officials Locker Room Attendant, and John Jastremski, Equipment Assistant, as the ones responsible for deflating the balls. The findings reveal that the two employees intentionally let air out of the game balls after the referees had already examined them, in an effort to make it easier for Brady to throw passes.
Wells’ investigation also finds that Brady knew what was going on, despite his repeated denial after it first came to light that 11 of the 12 balls from the AFC Championship game were in fact under-inflated. “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.
A point of evidence that proves Brady knew the balls were under-inflated is a series of texts between McNally and Jastremski that were revealed in the report. The text messages talk about how Brady complained throughout the season whenever the balls were over-inflated and they also insinuate that he gave the two employees autographed items and other gifts when they got the balls to the pressure level that he was comfortable with.
On top of that, phone records show that Brady called and texted Jastremski multiple times in January once the story broke. Though the nature of their conversations are not known, it seems suspicious that they would start talking so frequently all of a sudden considering they barely talked before Deflate-gate happened.
So what does this mean for Tom Brady? Commissioner Roger Goodell has confirmed that the NFL is considering disciplinary action, though he has yet to name names or specify what that disciplinary action would look like. Sources say Brady could be looking at anything from a fine to a temporary suspension. As for the two Patriots employees, seeing as how they were directly responsible, I would not be surprised if they lost their jobs over this.
