It’s Super Bowl week and the New England Patriots have managed to find their way into the news cycle. Not only that, but they might just be the hottest topic in the NFL heading into Sunday’s matchup between the Rams and Bengals.
Only the Patriots, right? Of course, it’s not for the reason you might think.
On Sunday night, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio set Twitter alight with eye-opening revelations about Deflategatewhich resulted in Tom Brady’s four-game suspension to start the 2016 season after he was found guilty of ordering the deflation of used footballs before the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts in January 2015.
Having accepted Florio’s findings, perhaps it is time for the NFL to reimburse the Patriots for what has clearly become a fraudulent punishment.
The NFL spread the initial misinformation that sparked Deflategate and then hid data that undermined its claims against the Patriots, according to a new book. https://t.co/FfA112vvuI
-Boston Herald (@bostonherald) February 7, 2022
In addition to making an example of the most popular player in the NFL, the Patriots were fined $1 million and stripped of first- and fourth-round draft picks. Even though the league obviously can’t overturn Brady’s suspension, it should at least swallow its pride, repay the $1 million fine, and give New England back its draft picks, right?
The first bomb dropped by Florio centered on the report that started the saga. After the AFC Championship Game, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that 11 of the 12 footballs used by the Patriots were underinflated by at least two pounds each, consistent with required PSI levels.
In Florio’s new book, “Playmakers,” he reveals that Mortensen’s source was NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent. Florio did not say whether Vincent intentionally spread false information, but it is certainly open to interpretation given all the evidence that now supports the Patriots’ appeal.
Regardless, it was this report that labeled Brady and New England “cheaters” and forced them to go on defense. We’re not lawyers, but this certainly makes it seem like the NFL launched its investigation based on a lie.
But that’s not all. The second information is undoubtedly more important than the first.
Who was the source of the famous (and false) report about 11 out of 12 footballs that sparked Deflategate? What happened to the atmospheric pressure measurements taken randomly during the 2015 seasons? The playmakers have found the answers to these two questions. https://t.co/gqTrKS7vwk
– ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) February 7, 2022
During an appeal hearing, Vincent noted that the NFL failed to consider basic science in its investigation. He even claimed that he had never heard of the ideal gas law, which explains why the air pressure of a football decreases in cold weather.
You’d think a thorough investigation would at least look at the ideal gas law to confirm the Patriots’ guilt or innocence, right?
Not in this case, which seems even worse given that Florio further reported that the PSI levels of the balls used by New England against the Colts were accurate to what game temperatures should have produced.
Why is this important? Because in 2015, the NFL started doing spot checks of air pressure at halftime of games. The data, which appeared to contradict the league’s claims and allegedly turned public perception on its head of the Pats, was erased on the direct orders of NFL general counsel Jeff Pash, according to Florio.
See what we’re saying? The entire investigation was a sham (or so it seemed), which makes New England’s punishment a load of nonsense. In return, it seems only fair that the league backs down, owns up to its faults, and reimburses the Patriots.
But that will probably never happen.
