It would have been a lot stronger if he had cooperated with the investigation as he is required to do. I would not be surprised if he gets more punishment for his obstruction than for the actual "crime" (which, let's face it is pretty minor).
Well, if he broke the rules by not cooperating, I have no problem with him being punished for that.
I have a problem with someone being punished for something that can’t actually be substantiated.
And yes, a deflated ball is exceedingly minor.
It’s like punishing someone because their cleats were too long.
He cooperated. He just didn’t hand over the contents of his cell phone.
Only an idiot would do that, unless he had specific proof that would exonerate him. Regardless of his involvement there’s not much likelihood of that.