Posted on 01/23/2015 9:26:48 PM PST by Colofornian
The NFL is upping the stakes in its probe of the New England Patriots and unleashing one of the country’s top lawyers and a high-powered investigative firm to uncover the truth behind a scandal that has cast a dark cloud over the team as they prepare for the Super Bowl.
League officials broke their silence on the Deflategate scandal yesterday, announcing that high-powered white-collar crime lawyer Ted Wells will join NFL Executive Vice President Jeff Pash on the investigation into whether the Pats knowingly used under-inflated footballs in the American Football Conference championship game.
“He is one of the premier lawyers in the United States, he has great credibility, he’s well-known in the field and his reputation is stellar,” said Larry Krantz of the New York law firm Krantz & Berman when asked about Wells. “He’s a very serious lawyer, his integrity is beyond reproach and this is certainly an indication that (the NFL) is taking the investigation very seriously.”
The high-powered investigative firm Renaissance Associates also will be reviewing “electronic and video information” that could reveal whether team personnel let the air out of the balls after they were inspected by the referees, the NFL said.
Wells, who the league tapped to lead an investigation into bullying in the Miami Dolphins locker room in 2013, was named one of “The Decade’s Most Influential Lawyers” in 2010 by the National Law Journal. He famously — and successfully — defended former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer against federal charges he hid payments to a prostitution ring.
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonherald.com ...
Obviously some of us fortunately had parents who didn’t buy it when as teenagers we offered the lame excuse “but everybody does it”. Never worked in my childhood home.
Seems a lot of Freepers have lived their lives with an view that rules are for suckers and it’s fine to disregard them if it helps you get ahead.
Very disappointing, but not surprising.
I was only referring to gas laws and an 8th grade science experiment. I’ve tried to avoid this controversy, but no one can really. But I have seen all the lawyer shows, so there would have to be proof of intent to deceive, chain of custody, etc. If Limbaugh talks about this next week, I’m turning off the radio. It all will make for a very interesting game, though. If the buy times have not been signed into contract, there may be a price increase. By the way, were the balls inflated by the officials and then handed out?
The NFL specifications say the footballs must be inflated to 12½ to 13½ pounds. Have you checked to see what the ball feels like if it is 10½ psi? Do you know how much temperature changes the psi?
How did the NFL decide that balls must be between 12½ to 13½ psi?
Maybe it does not matter a whole lot if the range were changed to 10½ to 13½ psi. Do you know?
Why take about other dimensions and sports when the subject is NFL specs for football inflation levels?
That’s the idea. Golden calf. Integrity? Why, the NFL hasn’t had that in years. This is nothing new.
“That’s the idea. Golden calf. Integrity? Why, the NFL hasn’t had that in years. This is nothing new.”
And it’s not limited to just the NFL! The NBA, Baseball, you name it, it’s corrupt because “the money folks have taken over long ago.” “Professional Sports” like politics is just a bunch of “trained monkeys” dancing to the “big money folks” organ grinder.
Why would I care if someone broke the rules? I watch sports to be entertained. I couldn't care less if a team cheats to get an edge. It doesn't matter to me at all. I don't give a darn who wins. It's just entertainment. Next, you'll tell me professional wrestling is fixed.
No. It blows.
Brady, being a vet quarterback, would have known the ball was a little bit on the squishy side just by it’s feel. I am not buying the I’m innocent BS.
Except, at the Belicheck press conference today he stated clearly that the balls WERE GIVEN TO THE REFS TO INFLATE and the refs were asked to inflate the balls to 12.5PSI (the minimum). So the Patriots could not have used hot air to inflate the balls, because the refs did all of the inflating. Granted, had they wanted to use hot air, they could haven used all of the hot air expelled by people who don’t know what they are talking about on this subject.
Oh, and for the record, I’m a Redskins fan. I dislike the Patriots. But I dislike supposed conservatives who are so stupid as to allow themselves to be led around by the nose by a media looking to tear down the successful even more...
The penalty for Ball Tampering?
$75,000 fine.
This whole thing is just hype drummed up by people who want to attract a lot of viewers to the Super Bowl, so they can cheer against "the bad guys".
It really is more and more like Pro Wrestling.
I posted my comment at a 11:25 this morning, and now you are implying I’m stupid for not knowing then what was going to be said in a press conference at about 2:30 this afternoon.
Sorry, my psychic powers aren’t what they used to be.
This whole thing is stupid. The Pats cheated and even your dog knows it. They should have their last victory vacated and send the Colts to the Superbowl.
The way things are running now, what kind of message does that send to kids? “Cheat and you’ll be OK, even when caught”? That’s appalling.
It’s been known for years that the Pats have been cheating and nothing has happened to them. What a joke.
The NFL doesn’t vacate victories. That’s an NCAA hobby, and it doesn’t seem to stop anybody either.
This is getting stupid. The NFL is looking like morons. The referees can’t tell if a ball is properly inflated? Glad NASCAR racing is just around the corner.
So with properly inflated balls would the score have been 72-7?
Yup....and the only coach in this years Superbowl who has had a national title vacated for cheating is not Belichick. For the record: I’ve said all along this was a minor offence & should be handled with a fine or loss of draft-pick IF they are found guilty. As of yet the NFL has produced nothing & after listening to Belichick today say he’s 100% sure the Pats did nothing it’s all on the NFL at this point.
Hey, if you take fifteen percent of air out of a ball...in very wet conditions...and replicated that over a season of wetconditioned games, yes, receivers are going to catch more passes than higherinflated balls.
As for temperature, #1...it wasn't freezing on Pats sideline while being warm & balmy on Colts sideline...
#2...The weather was above freezing thruout the game...fifteen one degrees at gametime...and these footballs were exposed to direct air less than 2 hrs...
The gambling industry should put the odds out as follows:
What are the odds that the temperature would significantly impact 11 Patriot balls, but somehow escapes impact on the 12th ball? And... What are the odds that the temperature would significantly impact 92 percent of the Patriots balls, but NOT the Colts balls?
What are the odds that the temperature would significantly impact 11 Patriot balls, but somehow escapes impact on the 12tth ball? And... What are the odds that the temperature would significantly impact 92 percent of the Patriots balls, but NOT the Colts balls?
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