BlueInCanada Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 So Brady and a bunch of equipment people are going to get punished? http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000491385/article/wells-report-released-on-footballs-used-in-afc-title-game Wells report released on footballs used in AFC title570 By Gregg Rosenthal Around The NFL Editor Published: May 6, 2015 at 01:33 p.m. Updated: May 6, 2015 at 02:16 p.m. Independent investigator Ted Wells submitted his report to Commissioner Roger Goodell and theNew England Patriots on Wednesday in relation to the footballs used in the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts. The findings are now available to the public. There are hundreds of pages of the report to go through, but here are some of the key sections that conclude the findings: "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 thePatriots) 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 fromPatriots game balls," the report reads. The reports says that other Patriots personnel were not aware of the effort. "We do not believe that the evidence establishes that any other Patriots personnel participated in or had knowledge of the violation of the Playing Rules or the deliberate effort to circumvent the rules described in this Report. In particular, we do not believe there was any wrongdoing or knowledge of wrongdoing by Patriots ownership, Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick or any other Patriots coach in the matters investigated." In relation to the kicking balls, the conclusion reads: "We do not believe that the evidence supports a conclusion that there was any deliberate effort by the Patriots to circumvent the NFL's Playing Rules with respect to the kicking balls used during the AFC Championship Game." NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell also released a statement on the report: "I want to express my appreciation to Ted Wells and his colleagues for performing a thorough and independent investigation, the findings and conclusions of which are set forth in todayâs comprehensive report," Goodell wrote. "As with other recent matters involving violations of competitive rules, Troy Vincent and his team will consider what steps to take in light of the report, both with respect to possible disciplinary action and to any changes in protocols that are necessary to avoid future incidents of this type. At the same time, we will continue our efforts vigorously to protect the integrity of the game and promote fair play at all times." Patriots owner Robert Kraft released his own statement on the matter soon after the report was released. "Throughout the process of this nearly four-month investigation, we have cooperated and patiently awaited its outcome. To say we are disappointed in its findings, which do not include any incontrovertible or hard evidence of deliberate deflation of footballs at the AFC Championship Game, would be a gross understatement," Kraft wrote. "While I respect the independent process of the investigation, the time, effort and resources expended to reach this conclusion are incomprehensible to me. Knowing that there is no real recourse available, fighting the league and extending this debate would prove to be futile. We understand and greatly respect the responsibility of being one of 32 in this league and, on that basis, we will accept the findings of the report and take the appropriate actions based on those findings as well as any discipline levied by the league." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmenroc Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 So what gets done with the wins? Are they vacated? NFL should've never released the results because now they have to make a decision and it doesn't matter which way they go. They either vacate the wins and have a year with a superbowl, but no superbowl winner. Or, they let it go and have a known superbowl winner who was proven to have cheated to get there. I'm not arguing that most teams aren't pushing some envelopes and crossing some lines, because I think all do. But now that's it's known and out in the open...what does the NFL do about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueInCanada Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 We'll the report says that Brady and some of the equipment personal had knowledge of what went on, but the rest of the team can't be blamed for anything. You can bet the NFL just plays on this fact. The Pats won the SB but Brady might have it knocked off his record or maybe get the MVP title taken away, I'm sure the equipment guys are canned. But you can't strip a team of a SB win when they got caught doing something that every single team in the league does, cheats. Although it's this former judge making the call, not Goodell, so who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 yo read the report. it's pretty damn crazy. https://nfllabor.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/investigative-and-expert-reports-re-footballs-used-during-afc-championsh.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 I don't think vacating the results is even an option. Suspending Brady for a season and firing the equipment assistants should be the punishment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fringe Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 I don't think vacating the results is even an option. Suspending Brady for a season and firing the equipment assistants should be the punishment. Fine him a million and give it to Battered wives and kids foundation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 trey wingo @wingoz 3m3 minutes ago And all of this is easily avoidable if the NFL just , you know, KEEPS the game balls once they've been approved for play. Simple really Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueInCanada Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 Fine him a million and give it to Battered wives and kids foundation I think Merryweather's wife has enough money though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fringe Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 I think Merryweather's wife has enough money though. Good one. The nfl can hurt Brady in the wallet and help their PR at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Good one. The nfl can hurt Brady in the wallet and help their PR at the same time. He doesn't care about the money, taking a season away from him will hurt him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fringe Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Never happen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightFire Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 I like how good buddy of the NFL Kraft gets to keep clean while he throws his aging QB under the bus. Welcome to loyalty in the NFL Brady. Of course this assumes anything but some equipment patsy getting punished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allstarjim Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 If you think the balls being slightly under-inflated made a big difference in that ass-whooping that the Colts got, then you need to sit down, take a deep breath, and drink a beer, then another. It's not that big of a deal. Sports Science did a study on this, and they said that the ball would travel some microscopic amount of time slower through the air, slightly helping the defending team. Sure, it probably felt better in Brady's hand, too. But the balls in the Super Bowl were not affected. I think there will be fines levied to the Patriots team and maybe staff, and that's about it. Probably nothing happens to Brady because it appears Brady's knowledge isn't provable. Regardless, this will likely result in different pre-game protocols in terms of safeguarding the game balls, which is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikmak Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 So what gets done with the wins? Are they vacated? NFL should've never released the results because now they have to make a decision and it doesn't matter which way they go. They either vacate the wins and have a year with a superbowl, but no superbowl winner. Or, they let it go and have a known superbowl winner who was proven to have cheated to get there. I'm not arguing that most teams aren't pushing some envelopes and crossing some lines, because I think all do. But now that's it's known and out in the open...what does the NFL do about it? I guess they'd have to take all those 49'er superbowl trophies away too then since Jerry Rice said he used stickum on his hands. Seems like such an overblown thing to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fringe Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 No one is saying it would make a marked difference but there is something to be said for their pompous attitude about the rules that other teams follow. That is what needs to be addressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueInCanada Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 No one is saying it would make a marked difference but there is something to be said for their pompous attitude about the rules that other teams follow. That is what needs to be addressed. Easy now, let's not act like other teams don't cheat in the league. Pumping in crowd noise, PEDs, does no one remember the Giant's stealing radio signals in the 2001? Bounty scandals, salary cap violations and trickery, players (Giant's are notorious) taken dives, hell for Broncos were horribly over the cap each year that they won the SB and nothing came of it. Vikings have been investigated for heating up their footballs, Packers have said they over inflate the ball for Rodgers. These are just things I can think off of the top of my head. Let's not act like all over 31 teams in the league don't bend/break the rules when millions upon millions of dollars are on the line for 60 minutes every Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fringe Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Point is it's not about the particular game and how it was affected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikmak Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 No one is saying it would make a marked difference but there is something to be said for their pompous attitude about the rules that other teams follow. That is what needs to be addressed. I don't think other teams are sticklers for the rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fringe Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 I don't think other teams are sticklers for the rules. Probably not. But they haven't been caught...twice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 It's not about that particular game. It's about a single team that has been proven (albeit, not irrefutably) to have a blatant disregard for rules designed to honor fairness and parity. Other teams may do it, but that's not the point. Other teams haven't been caught in high profile instances like this on such a consistent basis. And why does fucking tom Brady need any advantages, anyway? What a fucking tool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allstarjim Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 I agree that some punishment is appropriate, and I agree that protocols to prevent further manipulation of the game balls need to be adopted. I just think the talk about vacating wins is just silly. Assess the fines and or suspension and let's move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 I agree that some punishment is appropriate, and I agree that protocols to prevent further manipulation of the game balls need to be adopted. I just think the talk about vacating wins is just silly. Assess the fines and or suspension and let's move on. Agreed. I'm just sick of hearing about it already. No matter the punishment, there will be people who won't think it's harsh enough. Just suspend Brady 6 games or so, fine him, whatever. I'd probably care a lot more if the giants hadn't beaten them twice in the super bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightFire Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Point is it's not about the particular game and how it was affected. Jesus Christ, I can't believe posters are arguing with you on this. Other kids cheat on tests in school so it's cool if I tell my kids to go ahead and cheat. Everyone else is doing it right. Shit come to think of it I’m going to start stealing from stores. Many other people do it and they have insurance anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allstarjim Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Who is arguing? Nobody is saying don't punish them, but society wouldn't give you the death penalty for stealing from a store, either. It's the level of outrage that is overblown, imo. Agree they cheated. Agree they should be punished. Agree the NFL should address this so it can't happen again. Disagree on the sky is falling, the Super Bowl is tainted, and the Patriots should vacate wins, and there is officially no Super Bowl winner this year. Levity is needed here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueInCanada Posted May 7, 2015 Author Share Posted May 7, 2015 Who is arguing? Nobody is saying don't punish them, but society wouldn't give you the death penalty for stealing from a store, either. It's the level of outrage that is overblown, imo. Agree they cheated. Agree they should be punished. Agree the NFL should address this so it can't happen again. Disagree on the sky is falling, the Super Bowl is tainted, and the Patriots should vacate wins, and there is officially no Super Bowl winner this year. Levity is needed here. This, so much of this. And a little of that. I would argue pumping in crowd noise is more beneficial to a team then a few PSI in the balls. And all the Falcons gave up was a 3rd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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