The emergence of some new details on the subject has painted an unflattering picture of the NFL’s conduct throughout the investigative process.
Since 2014, Deflategate's absurdity has been a part of the collective consciousness of NFL fantasy. Controversy over New England's alleged involvement in beating the football sparked an 18-month legal battle, which resulted in quarterback Tom Brady being suspended for four games and losing to the Patriots in first- and fourth-round draft picks. while fined $1 million.
However, the emergence of some new details on the subject paints an unpleasant picture of the conduct of the NFL during the investigation process.
Mike Florio of ProFootball Network reported Sunday night from information gathered for his upcoming book, "Playmakers: How the NFL Really Works (And Doesn't)" that Troy Vincent, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations, was the source of the misreports that sparked Spread out. complete exam. According to Florio's sources, Vincent told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that 11 of the Patriots' 12 footballs [used in the 2014 AFC title game versus the Indianapolis Colts] were found to lose more than two pounds per square inch. Later the report turned out to be wrong.
"It makes sense," Florio wrote. "It needed to be high enough on the organizational chart to be reliable and to motivate Mortensen to use it, despite the fact that (unbeknownst to Mortensen) this was not true. It is unclear why." Whether or not Vincent intentionally lied to Mortensen. In the early days of the scandal, things were complicated and hazy and confusing."
Florio also revealed that his sources disclosed the league's decision to stop releasing air pressure data collected during the 2015 season. Reportedly, the data displayed a similar psi trend to Patriots football in the 2014 AFC Championship Game.
In what amounts to injurious evidence against the league, the suppression of the findings came under the direction of NFL general counsel Jeff Pash. Reportedly, Pash later collected "extracted" psi data, which showed a "direct relationship between temperature and air pressure". In addition, "the measurements taken at halftime for the Colts-Patriots game were not consistent with what they should have been."
“Starting with the 2015 season, the NFL began to spot-check air-pressure at half-time of the game. The numbers were collected and preserved, with no information ever coming to light.”
"It was expected that, given the operation of the ideal gas law, the pressure inside the balls would increase on hot days, and drop on cold days. That's exactly what happened. "Many" measurements taken half the time yield numbers over the permitted range of 12.5 to 13.5 psi, with readings showing a direct relationship between temperature and air pressure.
“On cold days, pressure readings taken before the balls were taken into the field resulted in lower readings after 90 minutes of exposure to conditions. On hot days, the pressure builds up."
"Indeed, it was believed that the actual numbers measured in the footballs used by the Patriots generally corresponded to the numbers that atmospheric conditions should have produced that day. The result should have been that, at most Moreover, the evidence was inconclusive as to whether there was intentional deflation on the day in question."
"So what happened to those numbers from the 2015 season? According to a source with knowledge of the situation, and as reported in Playmakers, the NFL removed the numbers. It happened on direct orders, according to the source, the NFL's General. Counsel Jeff Pash K.
"Why would the league remove the number? this is easy. For colder days, the playoffs against the Colts were very close to the actual numbers generated by New England football at halftime of the game. Which means that the numbers generated at halftime of the January 2015 AFC Championship were not evidence of fraud, but evidence of the normal operation of the air pressure inside the rubber bladder when the temperature dropped. As expected."
Despite what appeared to be the NFL's best effort to not only derail Brady and the Patriots, but also to impress their honours, the 2016 season ended with the Patriots winning Super Bowl LI and giving Brady the game's best. Named a valuable player.