Phoenix---NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Friday refused to speculate on the outcome of the league's "Deflategate" probe or potential penalties New England could face if found to have broken league rules.
Goodell, addressing the state of the league as it looks forward to Sunday's season-ending Super Bowl 49, said the NFL is conducting a "thorough and objective investigation" into whether the Patriots purposely used under-inflated footballs to gain an advantage in a playoff win over Indianapolis.
Goodell said the probe, led by attorney Ted Wells, is focusing on two questions: "Why were some footballs used in the game that were not in compliance with the rules, and was this result of a deliberate action?
"I want to emphasize, we have made no judgement on these points," Goodell said. "And we will not compromise the investigation by engaging in speculation."
The league has confirmed that some of the footballs used by the Patriots offense in the contest were found to be inflated below the level mandated by the league at halftime, and properly inflated for the second half.
The mystery remains as to how the balls that passed a pre-game inspection came to be under-inflated and perhaps easier to grip and throw in the cold, rainy weather at Foxborough.
On Monday, Patriots owner Robert Kraft defiantly defended his team, and said that if the investigation exonerates the Pats, the league owes coach Bill Belichick and Tom Brady an apology for calling their integrity into question.
"I'm disappointed with the way this entire matter has been handled and reported upon," said Kraft, who was apparently irked by media leaks of information gathered in the probe.
Goodell said that regardless of the outcome, the league had no choice but to investigate.
"This is my job, this is my responsibility, to protect the integrity of the game," he said.
The Patriots routed the Colts 45-7 in the game to book their Super Bowl berth. Playing with properly inflated footballs, they out-scored Indianapolis 28-0 in the second half.
While some have pounced on the affair as proof that Belichick is a scofflaw, others have simply scoffed at the scandal.
Actors Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and John Krasinski teamed up in a video that aired on a Jimmy Kimmel's late night chat show, claiming to be the culprits.
But Goodell insisted it didn't matter if any advantage gained by the Patriots was negligible, if they are proved to have violated the rules.
"We're a league of rules," he said. "If there are rules that dictate the pressure in footballs or rules about how the game is played between the white lines, we're going to enforce those rules."
AFP
