The New England Patriots probably cheated by taking air out of footballs. Tom Brady probably knew about it. In its simplest form, that is what the lengthy report from “independent” investigator Ted Wells revealed on Wednesday.
Before we begin, let us stress that this is not a defense of Brady or the Patriots. The truth of the matter is there is very little hard evidence provided in the Deflategate report, and certainly not enough to convict Brady in a court of law.
We know — this isn’t a court of law. But there are certain details in the Wells report that have resulted in pitchfork-type overreaction. Here are five of them:
1. Brady not turning over his cell phone
Text messages that were exchanged between Patriots locker room attendant Jim McNally and equipment assistant John Jastremski are the most compelling evidence Wells came up with. The reason those texts were made available is they were sent to and from company-issued phones. There are no texts from Brady, because he refused to turn over his personal cell phone to investigators.
Brady’s refusal to give up his phone has been interpreted by many as an admission of guilt. That seems unfair. Brady and his wife, Gisele Bundchen, are two of the most famous people on the planet. They have three children and do their best to keep their personal lives just that — personal. Even if Wells and company offered to allow Brady’s counsel to “screen and control to production” if Brady turned over his phone, I don’t blame him for refusing.
Unless I had no choice, I wouldn’t give up my personal cell phone to anyone. Does that mean I have something to hide? No, it does not. Did Brady have something to hide? He certainly could have, but not giving up his phone doesn’t make that as obvious as some would like to think.
2. Phone calls between Brady and equipment managers
Shortly after the Deflategate scandal erupted, the frequency of text message and phone communications between Brady and Jastremski increased. Brady and Jastremski spoke for almost an hour in total in various conversations between Jan. 19 and Jan. 21. Brady also took the “unprecedented step” of inviting Jastremski into the quarterbacks room at Gillette Stadium on Jan. 19. He later sent Jastremski text messages that said stuff like “You good Jonny boy?” and “You doing good?”
Deflategate was a massive story. It’s all anyone was talking about after the AFC Championship Game. Wouldn’t it make sense for Brady and the equipment managers to get together and talk about it whether they did something wrong or not?
Again, we’re not saying Brady is innocent. But the league was breathing down his and the team’s neck no matter how you look at it. If you’re accused of a crime and you know you didn’t do it, do you just ignore it altogether? Probably not.
3. Text messages from McNally and Jastremski bashing Brady
A lot of people have read the text messages between McNally and Jastremski — which you can see here — and concluded that the two Pats employees despise Brady. McNally says stuff like ‘f– Tom’ and claims he is going to blow up the footballs like watermelons just to screw with the quarterback.
I’m shocked by how few people have interpreted the derogatory remarks as sarcasm. Have you ever complained about your boss with coworkers even though you love working for him or her? That’s essentially what’s going on here. McNally and Jastremski don’t hate Brady. If they did, they would have already run to ESPN and put an end to all this speculation.
4. Brady giving gifts to McNally and Jastremski
In my opinion, this means nothing. Former NFL quarterback Scott Zolak, who is a color analyst for the Patriots and may have some bias, insists it is very common for NFL quarterbacks to give autographed items, cash and other gifts to equipment managers.
We’re talking about professional athletes. A quarterback doesn’t have to be cheating or bribing guys to cheat for him to be a pain in the you-know-what. NFL quarterbacks want the footballs exactly how they like them, and equipment managers work hard to meet those standards. Aaron Rodgers admitted last season that he likes to have his equipment managers overinflate balls to see if they can get away with it. That makes for a stressful job for the equipment guys. I highly doubt bonuses are only given to the ones who are allegedly helping a quarterback cheat.
5. The competitive advantage gained
If Brady and the Patriots cheated, they’re incredibly stupid. Mostly because it is very difficult to believe that 1.0-1.5 psi of air pressure — the amount most of New England’s balls were under the limit at halftime of the AFC Championship Game — can give a quarterback a major advantage. In fact, Brady performed better in the second half against the Indianapolis Colts, when he completed 12 of 14 passes for 155 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. At that point, the footballs had been inflated to the higher end of the allowable 12.5-13.5 psi range, according to the Wells report.
Brady didn’t need to cheat, just as he didn’t need to make comments like this after being accused. Did the face of the NFL break the rules? It’s a definite possibility, but let’s not use arbitrary information in an attempt to prove that.
