On Thursday, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick both denied any knowledge of illicitly underinflated footballs in New England's crushing win over the Indianapolis Colts last weekend. Few people in the world of pro football seem to be buying that denial. Among those doubters is former Steelers wide receiver (and current NBC sports analyst) Hines Ward.
"No matter how you want to spin it, cheating is cheating," Hines told Late Night's Seth Meyers on Thursday night, "and for the Patriots, they got caught." Again. A deflated football feels kind of like a Nerf ball, he explained: "You feel like you could throw it a mile." Meyers admitted that if he were a New England fan, he wouldn't care about "deflategate," and asked Ward if their shared enmity toward the Patriots could be "coloring what we feel about this?" Ward laughed and agreed, but said this is mostly about the "integrity of the game." The more interesting part is his first-hand experience with Patriots' cheating. Watch below. —Peter Weber
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.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 11, 2025Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - shark-infested waters, Mother's Day, and more
-
5 fundamentally funny cartoons about the US ConstitutionCartoons Artists take on Sharpie edits, wear and tear, and more
-
In search of paradise in Thailand's western islesThe Week Recommends 'Unspoiled spots' remain, providing a fascinating insight into the past
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top GrammysSpeed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own roomSpeed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
