CHANDLER, Ariz. — The NFL might have found their ballsy culprit in its Deflategate investigation.
Fox Sports reported the NFL is targeting a Patriots locker-room attendant as a “strong person of interest.” The report states the attendant allegedly took footballs from the officials’ locker room to another area on the way to the field before the AFC Championship Game victory over the Colts. Fox cites anonymous sources saying the NFL has interviewed him and has video, but the league was still figuring out whether this person actually did anything wrong.
The latest report came hours before the Patriots landed in Arizona to prepare for Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday against the Seahawks.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft gave an emphatic defense of his team, coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. Kraft was not scheduled to address the media, but took the podium before Belichick’s and Brady’s scheduled sessions.
“I want to make it clear that I believe unconditionally that the New England Patriots have done nothing inappropriate in this process or in violation of NFL rules,” Kraft said.
The owner said he was bothered by people questioning the integrity of Belichick and Brady and how the story of the underinflated footballs is being reported.
“Tom, Bill and I have been together for 15 years. They are my guys,” Kraft said. “They are part of my family and Bill, Tom and I have had many difficult discussions over the years. I have never known them to lie to me. That is why I’m confident in saying what I just said.”
In a shocking move, Kraft then called upon the NFL to apologize if the Patriots are found to be innocent of any wrongdoing.
“If the Wells investigation is not able to definitively determine that our organization tampered with the air pressure in the footballs I would expect and hope that the league would apologize to our entire team and in particular coach Belichick and Tom Brady for what they have had to endure this past week,” he said. “I’m disappointed in the way this entire matter has been handled and reported upon. We expected hard facts as opposed to circumstantial leaked evidence to drive the conclusion of this investigation.”
It does not sound like any ruling is coming from the NFL anytime soon. Attorney Ted Wells, who is leading the investigation for the league, issued a statement Monday that said the investigation will last “several more weeks.”
“We are in the process of conducting a thorough investigation on the issue of the footballs used in the AFC Championship,” Wells said. “This work began last week, stretched through the weekend, and is proceeding expeditiously this week notwithstanding the Super Bowl. We are following customary investigative procedures and no one should draw any conclusions about the sequence of interviews or any other steps, all of which are part of the process of doing a thorough and fair investigation.
“I expect the investigation to take at least several more weeks. In the interim, it would be best if everyone involved or potentially involved in this matter avoids public comment concerning the matter until the investigation is concluded. The results will be shared publicly.”
Belichick shot down any questions about the controversy on Monday, saying he has answered everything he could about the issue and he has turned his focus to the Seahawks.
Brady took a similar approach, but earlier in the day, he revealed how hurt he has been by the accusations in a radio interview.
“I personalized a lot of things and thought this was all about me and my feelings got hurt, and then I moved past it because it’s not serving me,” Brady said Monday morning on WEEI Radio in Boston.
Brady said he was done talking about the topic, but did answer a question in the radio interview about whether he has ever told an equipment manager or ball boy to underinflate footballs.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “No, I didn’t. And I haven’t. And I never will. I think that’s obviously how I feel and the kind of person that I am.
“No one knows the facts. I pick 24 balls, that’s what I pick. Whatever happened after I did it, and whatever the situation was where they measured them, I have no idea any of those facts. So I try to stay really humble and deal with the facts that I know. When you don’t know something, that’s all you can say is, ‘I don’t know.’ I know that’s not always the answer that people want to hear, but that’s the reality.”