Today, Bill Belichick finally met with the press to talk about “deflate-gate.” In his statement, he stressed he had nothing to do with the incident, where 11 of the 12 footballs appeared to be deflated during their 45-7 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
“I was shocked to learn of the news report of the [deflated] footballs,” he said. “I had no knowledge of the situation until Monday… I had no knowledge of the various steps involved in the game balls and the process that happened when they were prepared and went to the game. I understand that each team has the opportunity to prepare [the footballs] the way they want, and give them to the officials who approve or do not approve.”
He even explained his practice habits, saying that the balls they use are in the worst possible shape, so the players do not have to worry about their condition during the game. “We never use the condition of the football as an excuse, we throw or kick with whatever we use… I want players to deal with a harder situation in practice than they would ever in the game.”
And as for the players changing the pressure, he simply stated, “I think we all know that kickers, QB, specialists have a special preference on the ball… there is never any sympathy from me on that subject. [As for Tom Brady’s] personal preference on the footballs, he can talk about it in better details.” Needless to say, there are going to be crosshairs on Brady during his press conference tomorrow.
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“In my entire coaching career, I have never talked to any player or staff member about football air pressure… we play with whatever is out there.” And now he will practice/play with over-inflated footballs to avoid this controversy.
Again Belichick claimed he had zero knowledge and told the reporters they would have to direct their inquiries about the investigation towards the NFL, which, according to the longtime coach, the Pats have been cooperating with fully. He ended on the notion, “It is unfortunate that this is a story coming off of two great playoff victories.”
When the media attempted to ask questions following his statement, the stoic Belichick simply repeated different variations of “I told you everything I know.”
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