Earlier this week, an NFL investigation reportedly found that 11 of the 12 footballs that were provided by the Patriots for their AFC Championship Game against the Colts on Sunday night were underinflated. So during a press conference that he held a short time ago, New England head coach Bill Belichick was forced to address the controversy surrounding the deflated footballs—which has been dubbed #DeflateGate—for the first time. And in doing so, he said that he was "shocked" to learn about the underinflated footballs and denied any wrongdoing on his part.
"I was completely and totally unaware of any of this until Monday morning," he said, before talking about how he's never discussed the air pressure of game balls with anyone. "My entire coaching career, I have never talked to any player or staff member about football air pressure."
He also said that he was unaware of the steps that teams take prior to games to make sure that footballs are inflated properly.
"I had no knowledge of the various steps involved in the game balls and the process that they went through, that happened when they were prepared and went to the officials and into the game," he said, "so I've learned a lot about that."
When pressed further, he reiterated that he didn't play any part in #DeflateGate.
"I have no explanation for what happened," he said.
And towards the end of his press conference, he said that it's a shame that all the controversy surrounding the Patriots right now is taking away from what they've accomplished over the last two weeks.
"It's unfortunate this is a story coming off two great playoff victories by our football team," he said.
Tom Brady is expected to speak with reporters later this afternoon and will no doubt be asked about #DeflateGate as well. So stay tuned to see what he has to say about all of this.
2.
[via CBS Sports]
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.
