Culture of Hoops

Patriots Attendant Reportedly Attempted to Put Unapproved Ball in AFC Title Game

Image courtesy of WEBN-TV/Flickr.

Image courtesy of WEBN-TV/Flickr.

Weeks before Super Bowl 49, the talk of the sports world was Deflategate. Allegedly, the New England Patriots used footballs on offense that were lighter than regulation. The conversation died down some as we got closer to the game and was eventually dwarfed by Pete Carroll’s now infamous red zone call.

A new report from ESPN will ensure that talk radio has a new topic for today.

ESPN reports that a longtime Patriot attendant tried to hand a referee an unapproved ball during the AFC title game.

One source said that the attendant assigned to the officials’ locker room, identified as 48-year-old Jim McNally, has been interviewed by investigators for Ted Wells, the attorney the NFL hired last month to lead an investigation into allegations the Patriots intentionally used under inflated-footballs on offensive plays in the first half of that game against the Indianapolis Colts, which New England won 45-7.

Allegedly, McNally tried to give the unapproved football to an alternate official who was in charge of the special-teams footballs. Those footballs are known as “kicking balls” or “K balls.”

According to the report from ESPN, the “K balls” would have no effect on Tom Brady‘s performance.

Read the full report here.

 

 

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