NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Thinks Deflategate Investigation ‘Getting Near The End’
The Deflategate saga may finally be nearing an end.
In a 75-minute interview with Peter King for “The Monday Morning Quarterback’’ prior to the NFL owners’ meetings in Arizona this week, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell revealed that he thinks attorney Ted Wells’ investigation into Deflategate is “near the end,’’ but also admitted that there is no deadline and that he hasn’t spoken to Wells in “several weeks.’’
“I think the most important thing is to get the right information, to get the facts and get to the truth. And not to make any judgments until you get that,’’ Goodell told King. “We haven’t given him [Wells] a timetable except to be thorough, be fair and get to the truth. When he’s completed his report, that will be made public as well as to all of us.’’
CLICK HERE for full Goodell interview.
The public release of Wells’ report should provide a degree of transparency missing in the aftermath of the Spygate investigation in 2008, when the NFL destroyed evidence on the grounds it was “the right thing to do.’’
After Indianapolis columnist Bob Kravitz initially reported that the Patriots were suspected of using improperly inflated footballs in their 45-7 victory over the Colts in the AFC title game on Jan. 18, Deflategate was born. In the ensuing two months, anonymously sourced and sometimes contradictary reports proliferated about the levels of air pressure in various footballs. Along the way, a confusing, tangential controversy involving an unapproved kicking ball also arose.
Ahead of the Patriots’ 28-24 victory over the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, Wells indicated that the investigation into the incident was expected to go on for “at least several more weeks.’’
According to Goodell, it may finally be ending sometime soon.
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