Report: NFL determines that Patriots footballs were illicitly under-inflated
Eleven out of 12 footballs used by the New England Patriots during Sunday night's AFC championship blowout game against the Colts were under-inflated by 2 pounds of air, NFL sources tell ESPN. The Boston Globe confirmed the report, citing a letter from the NFL.
The NFL's senior vice president of communications would not comment, and earlier on Tuesday, Troy Vincent, senior executive vice president of football operations, said the investigation would be finished in two or three days. One source tells ESPN that the NFL is "disappointed... angry... distraught" over the finding. It is not yet known what penalties, if any, will be imposed against the Patriots, who defeated the Colts 45-7 to advance to their sixth Super Bowl.
Investigators are working to determine how the footballs became under-inflated, ESPN reports. Under league standards, each team's 12 game balls are required to be inflated to between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch, and have to be inspected and approved 2 hours and 15 minutes before kickoff. Once the balls are returned to the teams, they cannot be altered. Footballs, if under-inflated the right amount, can be easier to throw and catch.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
The Idea of You review: 'impossible escapism' starring Anne Hathaway
The Week Recommends Steamy romcom about a 40-year-old who falls for a boy band singer
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: May 11, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku hard: May 11, 2024
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA Draft
Speed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
South Carolina ends perfect season with NCAA title
Speed Read The women's basketball team won a victory over superstar Caitlin Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Iowa's Caitlin Clark breaks NCAA scoring record
speed read College basketball star Caitlin Clark set the new record in Iowa's defeat of Ohio State
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Eight-year-old Brit Bodhana Sivanandan makes chess history
Speed Read Sivanandan has been described as a 'phenomenon' by chess masters
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Watch Simone Biles win her record 8th US gymnastics championship
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Spain beats England 1-0 to win its first Women's World Cup
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
US knocked out of Women's World Cup in stunning exit
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Katie Ledecky surpasses Michael Phelps for most world championship titles
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published