Former Steelers star Hines Ward isn't buying Tom Brady's 'deflategate' denials

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

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.