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Deflate-gate: Did Patriots Cheat? NFL To Investigate
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Deflate-gate: Did Patriots Cheat? NFL To Investigate
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Deflate-gate: Did Patriots Cheat? NFL To Investigate

Trending News: The NFL Has Discovered That The Patriots Did Use Deflated Balls Against Colts

Why Is This Important?

This could tarnish the legacies of both Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.
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Long Story Short

A report from ESPN claims that 11 of 12 balls used during the AFC title game between New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts were under-inflated, prompting a continued investigation from the NFL.
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Long Story

New England Patriots routed Indianapolis Colts 45-7 to book their place in Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks on February 1, but their win has been shrouded in controversy. After the game there were accusations that the Patriots had intentionally deflated the match balls, possibly because less inflated balls are said to be easier to catch in wet conditions. A report by ESPN seemed to back up those claims, suggesting that 11 of the 12 footballs were under-inflated.


This isn’t the first controversy involving the Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick. In 2007, the team was sanctioned by the NFL for videotaping New York Jets defensive coaches’ signals from the sidelines, which is in violation of league rules. Belichick was fined $500,000 and the Pats were docked their first-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft. The incident was referred to as Spygate.

This latest alleged breach of NFL rules has been dubbed #deflategate and has become a hot topic of conversation amongst football fans. New England quarterback Tom Brady has insisted the allegations are “ridiculous” on a Boston radio show, quoted by Sky, but the LATimes reports that Brady stated his preference for under-inflated footballs to WEEI Boston, according to CBS Connecticut.

Further news should follow soon with NFL executive Troy Vincent stating: “We’re still awaiting findings.”



Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question: Did the New England Patriots cheat to beat Indianapolis Colts?

Disrupt Your Feed: Belichick is at it again, but it’s hard to see how letting some air out of the balls would make for a 45-7 win.

Drop This Fact: Bill Belichick has the most play-off wins in the NFL with 21 and the fifth most coaching wins in total with 209.

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