The NFL released a statement today about how it was going to handle the New England Patriots deflated football scandal.
While it isn’t news that they are looking into the scandal, before today there wasn’t a lot of information available to the general public on just how they were going to go about doing it.
With recent missteps by the NFL offices (mainly in the Ray Rice case), it seems that the NFL is trying to be a lot more transparent in their work this time around.
The NFL offices have been conducting their investigation since the AFC Championship game between the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. The investigation began based on information that suggested that the game balls used by the Patriots were not properly inflated to levels required by playing rules. The rule in question is Rule 2, Section 1, which requires that game balls be inflated between 12.5 and 13.5 pound per square inch.
The game officials inspected the footballs used by each team and confirmed that this standard was satisfied, which was done before last Sunday’s game.
Obviously, something happened with the game balls between the time they were cleared and the time the game got underway, as 11 of the 12 balls the Patriots were using were under-inflated after they were checked again (most likely stemming from the Colts complaints to the league).
The investigation is being led jointly by NFL Executive Vice President Jeff Pash and Ted Wells of the law firm of Paul Weiss. The statement released states that Mr. Wells and his firm bring additional expertise and a valuable independent perspective to the invesitagation.
So far in the investigation, which started Sunday night, nearly 40 interviews have been conducted in the last several days including of the Patriot’s personnel, game officials and third parties with relevant information and expertise about the scandal.
The league is still in the process of obtaining additional information including video and other electric information and physical evidence to bring their case against New England.
In the next coming days, the NFL expects to conduct additional interviews, most likely including one with quarterback Tom Brady, who said yesterday in his press conference on the subject that the NFL offices have yet to be in contact with him about the matter. More looks into video and other forensic and physical evidence will also been taken into account before a conclusion is reached.
The NFL also wanted to make clear that while the balls used by New England in the first half were under-inflated, the problem was immediately corrected for the second half once it was brought to their attention, in which all the balls used were back to their properly inflated requirements for the rest of the game.
The goals of the investigation will be to determine the explanation for why the footballs used in the game were not in compliance with the playing rules and specifically whether any noncompliance was the result of deliberate action. The NFL has not made any judgments on these points and will not do so until they have concluded their investigation and considered all of the relevant evidence at their disposil.
Lastly, the statement also notes that upon hearing of the investigation, the Patriots have promptly pledged their full cooperation and have made their personnel and other information available immediately upon request.
As more information is developed, and a conclusion can be reached, the NFL will share their findings publicly as soon as they have it.
