The reports didn’t seem to add up.
After the DeflateGate news broke, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported the NFL was tipped off about the New England Patriots possibly deflating footballs before the AFC Championship Game and that officials were going to check the balls at halftime regardless. So with that in mind, paired with the fact that Glazer generally is a reliable source, some wondered if the league was running a sting operation on the Patriots.
That’s not the case, per Newsday’s Bob Glauber.
“There was a situation that was brought up during the game, and it was looked into,” a source told Glauber on Monday. “That’s when it first came up. It was not the result of something that was arranged ahead of time.”
Another source, when asked if the investigation could have been arranged ahead of time without the Patriots’ knowledge, gave the same response.
“No way,” he told Glauber. “That’s just not how it works.”
One of the sources added that the Indianapolis Colts did tell the NFL they were suspicious of the Patriots using under-inflated footballs during their Week 11 matchup, but that information came up during the investigation and not before.
While there’s no way of knowing right now whether Glauber’s or Glazer’s sources are correct, we have a feeling this won’t be the last conflicting report out of DeflateGate.
Thumbnail photo via Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports Images
