The “everybody does it” excuse has been a popular one during the Deflategate saga, and according to Adam Schefter, there’s truth to it.
When the Wells Report implicated Tom Brady in the case of the New England Patriots allegedly deflating footballs during the 2014 AFC Championship Game, folks were quick to point out the quarterback wasn’t the first guy to mess with air pressure. But ESPN’s Schefter happened to provide examples Tuesday.
“There was one punter I know — or, long snapper, last year — that carried a paper clip with him in two games and deflated footballs before he snapped them during the games,” Schefter said on “NFL Insiders,” per WEEI.com. “There’s another backup quarterback that would deflate footballs for his starting quarterback.”
Schefter was clear that claim shouldn’t excuse Brady, but rather it highlights a failure on the NFL’s part.
“So to think that Tom Brady‘s the only one, or the Patriots are the only team that have ever done anything, it doesn’t excuse them,” Schefter said. “Again, this is about preserving the integrity of the game and making sure that’s upheld, but again, that’s got to be met across the league. And there are other people, including that long snapper who used that paper clip to let out a little air in the football every time he was snapping last year.”
Brady’s hearing Tuesday at NFL headquarters in New York lasted a whopping 10 hours, but there’s no timeline for a decision about what will happen to his four-game suspension.
Thumbnail photo via Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports Images
