Patriots point out ESPN apologized to them, but not over deflate-gate report
We’re inching closer to the New England Patriots pretty much operating as a rogue operation, acting in contempt of the NFL offices and the 31 other teams.
The latest DGAD move (“don’t give a darn,” for this is a family site) was to tweet NFL broadcast partner ESPN’s apology for twice referencing a report about Super Bowl XXXVI in recent weeks. The report ESPN was referencing was presumably the one that the Patriots taped the Rams’ practice before that Super Bowl, and it was proven by the NFL to be untrue long ago.
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If ESPN was trying to hide the apology late at night, by saying it on air during “SportsCenter” at 12:20 a.m., it didn’t slip by the Patriots, who tweeted out the clip to their 1.52 million followers.
The Patriots have been upset about another ESPN report that shaped the public’s perception of deflate-gate. In the organization’s only remarks about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell upholding Tom Brady’s four-game suspension, owner Robert Kraft angrily referenced a report that 11 of New England’s 12 game balls in the AFC championship game were significantly deflated, a report that was proven to be incorrect once the Wells report was released. That 11 of 12 story is still on ESPN’s site. NFL senior vice president of football operations David Gardi sent a letter to the Patriots in the days after the AFC championship game informing them of an investigation, and the letter included flatly incorrect information such as one of the balls being 10.1 psi (none were less than 10.5 on either gauge used) and that each of the inspected Colts’ balls were in the legal range (three of the four balls tested by alternate game official Dyrol Prioleau were less than 12.5 psi). The NFL has never explained why or how there were incorrect facts in that letter, and the league has never indicated it has looked into the source of the “11 of 12” leak to ESPN.
The Patriots haven’t tried to hide their contempt about how the NFL has handled the situation, and now they’re making sure ESPN shares some of their displeasure as well.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
