Wells Report Finds That Patriots Probably Manipulated Balls
By Evan Reller
Back in late January, the New England Patriots were accused of cheating in the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts by deflating the footballs under the legal limit. After over 100 days of investigation by Ted Wells, the so-called Deflategate report has finally been released.
While there was no hard evidence in the report that the Patriots had in-fact cheated, there was a mountain of circumstantial evidence that pointed to a clear violation of the rules.
We are still pouring over the 243-page report but the findings do not look good for the Pats, and more specifically Tom Brady.
From the Wells Report:
"For the reasons described in this Report, and after a comprehensive investigation, we have concluded that, in connection with the AFC Championship Game, 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. In particular, we have concluded that it is more probable than not that Jim McNally [the Officials Locker Room attendant for the Patriots] and John Jastremski [an equipment assistant for the Patriots] participated in a deliberate effort to release air from Patriots game balls after the balls were examined by the referee.Based on the evidence, it also is our view that it is more probable than not that Tom Brady [the quarterback for the Patriots] was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of McNally and Jastremski involving the release of air from Patriots game balls."
Brady spent multiple press conferences and interviews denying that he had anything to do with the deflated footballs. He aggressively denied any wrongdoing and now its fairly clear that he was lying the entire time.
If the NFL accepts the report (and Patriots owner Robert Kraft has already rejected it) then it would likely mean a lengthy suspension for Brady.
We will have more on this story as we move through the Wells Report of the next few days.