Current Event Blog Post Assignment:

It’s been labeled, “Deflategate”. In a playoff game last season between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, it was found that the footballs the Patriots were using on offense were under the regulation weight. Patriots quarterback; Tom Brady and the rest of the Patriots denied any knowledge of why the balls would be underweight. Tim Wells was hired by the NFL to investigate the allegations. The report released, known as the Wells Report, found that it was likely that Tom Brady was not being truthful when he said he did not know why the balls were under weight. Tom Brady was eventually suspended for four games and the Patriots were fined $1 million, but this all comes after the Patriots won the Super Bowl last season.

The Wells Report is a 243-page report regarding Tim Wells’s investigation into “Deflategate”. The report concludes that Tom Brady at least had some knowledge about the underweight balls, but that it was unlikely that the coach knew anything. The article I reviewed, Patriots issue response to Ted Wells Report, by Gregg Rosenthal, discusses the Patriots rebuttal that they released three days after the release of the Wells Report. They explain that the report is incomplete and incorrect. It says that the Wells Report does not take into account the natural loss of psi the footballs could have undergone from the time they were originally checked to the final check, which determined they were underweight. There were also some texts between Brady and the equipment staff that the Wells Report found and said that they were discussing the deflated footballs. The Patriots rebuttal says there are many more possible explanations for the texts, and they did not have anything to do with deflated footballs. It pretty much is saying that the NFL does not have any firm evidence, it is all coincidental evidence, and there are explanations other than what the Wells Report states. The Wells Report discusses the advantage of the underweight footballs. It talks about how current and prior quarterbacks were interviewed, and they all recognized the advantage of an underweight ball, especially in inclement weather. The Patriots report says that Tom Brady does not like his footballs under 12.5 psi (lowest allowed ball weight) because they do not release from his hands how he prefers. The punishment came pretty quickly after the report was released. Many were surprised with the four game suspension Tom Brady received. By all reports, it seems as if he was suspended less for the fact that the balls were underweight, and more for the fact that he lied about it. With the Patriots still denying that Brady knew anything, and completely dismissing all of the evidence, saying there are other explanations, it will be interesting to see if the punishment sticks. Brady is officially appealing the suspension.  

References:

Rosenthal, G. (2015, May 14). Patriots issue response to Ted Wells Report. Retrieved May 17, 2015, from http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000492679/article/patriots-issue-response-to-ted-wells-report