In a completely unshocking turn of events, the NFL has changed its tune.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league collected PSI data during the 2015 season to “protect the integrity of the game,” not as a research study after last year’s Deflategate scandal. Goodell called these random tests “spot checks,” presumably to dissuade NFL teams from deflating footballs — as if the New England Patriots’ $1 million fine and loss of first- and fourth-round draft picks wasn’t enough.
“What the league did this year was what we do with a lot of rules and policies designed to protect the integrity of the game, and that’s to create a deterrent effect,” Goodell told the Rich Eisen Show, via The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin. “We do spot checks to prevent and make sure the clubs understand that we’re watching these issues. It wasn’t a research study. They simply were spot checks.”
So, if you were hoping the release of this data would clear the New England Patriots of any wrongdoing in Deflategate, think again.
Goodell went on to say every team passed the checks with flying colors (despite the Ideal Gas Law saying they shouldn’t have).
“There were no violations this year,” Goodell said. “We’re pleased that we haven’t had any violations and we continue the work, obviously, to consistently and importantly enforce the integrity of the game and the rules that are designed to protect it.”
Goodell was asked by Eisen if he has talked to Brady since the Patriots quarterback had his four-game suspension nullified after appealing the NFL’s punishment in court. Goodell, instead of answering, filibustered using some of his favorite league cliches.
“My first obligation … is to uphold the integrity of the game,” Goodell said. “That’s to uphold the rules of the game and make sure all 32 teams are operating under the same rules, all players are operating under the same rules and you do that on a consistent basis. I have great admiration for Tom. I know him personally. Obviously I respect his playing ability — he’s an extraordinary player — a sure Hall of Famer and I have nothing but admiration for him. But I have to make sure that we continue to do the things that are necessary to protect the integrity of the game and I will do that without compromise.”
All of this, of course, is completely unsurprising. Logic and science says the footballs tested this season would have shown a loss of pressure at halftime. By releasing that data, the NFL would have been, in part, admitting Deflategate was a waste of everyone’s time and energy. If the data had conclusively shown the Patriots did cheat, the NFL obviously would have released it to put any criticism over their investigation to rest.
Chalk up this latest bit of the NFL’s shenanigans as a win for the Patriots and their supporters.
Thumbnail photo via Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY Sports Images
