When the first (erroneous) reports about #Deflategate appeared, my wife and I had a conversation about it that went something like this.
Woman: “What’s going on?”
Me: “They say someone took the air out of footballs.”
Woman: “Why would they do that?”
Me: “To make it easier to grab.”
Woman: “What’s the benefit of it?”
Me: “Makes it easier to throw.”
Woman: “Shouldn’t the NFL want that?”
Nine years later, that simple logic of first impression remains unmistakable. The rule requiring footballs to be inflated between 12.5 and 13.5 psi was the ultimate “that’s how it was when I got here” rule. No one knew where it came from, why it was, or how the numbers were chosen.
Former Eagles center Jason Kelce recently pointed out the stupidity of the rule and its enforcement against the Patriots and Tom Brady, on an episode of the New heights podcast.
“I don’t even think Tom should have gotten in trouble for deflating footballsJason Kelce said, via Lauren Campbell of MassLive.com. “I’m for deflating footballs. I’ll say it. I’ll say it. I’m for deflating footballs… He outsmarted people. Why the fuck does it matter how much air is in that motherfucker? If you throw it and catch it, what the fuck does it matter?
“We’re all mad because he had the sense to take a little goddamn air out so the receivers could catch the damn thing? Why is that against the rules? You all could have taken the air out too. You could have taken the air out too. You just weren’t smart enough. So why am I being punished for being stupid dummies? It’s a rule, but it’s a stupid rule.”
Amen to all this. It’s a stupid rule, and it was an even stupider study. Bungled from the start, where the conclusion was predetermined and the challenge started working backwards to prove it. The thinking was that some in the league thought the Patriots weren’t being punished enough for the original Spygate controversy, and that this was a way to supplement their sanctions.
It didn’t help that Brady destroyed his phone. It didn’t help that it seemed like there was indeed a deliberate plan to secretly take the balls off. But it also didn’t help the competition that the numbers were sloppily collected and inconsistent with atmospheric conditions, making the correct outcome inconclusive of cheating at best.
The best evidence for this came from the 2015 epilogue. As explained in Gamemakers (the hardcover is currently $13.52), the league began conducting random air pressure checks during halftime of games. The numbers were kept under lock and key. And they were soon removedapparently because they showed that the 2014 AFC Championship numbers did not suggest cheating with the clarity the NFL believed.
Regardless of whether the investigation was poorly handled with a destination already set, the rule itself was and is stupid. If the offense wants the ball to be lower than 12.5, then so be it. Higher, so be it. At a time when the NFL is concerned about fueling offense, any under- or over-inflation that achieves that goal should be embraced, not dismissed.
