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New England Patriots Being Investigated By NFL For Deflating Footballs

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By @MichaelTerrill

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The NFL is very clear on their rules when it comes to basically everything, including how much a football can be inflated during a game. That is why the New England Patriots are being investigated by the league for reportedly using deflated footballs during the AFC Championship Game on Sunday night.

The following are a series of tweets by Indianapolis TV station WTHR columnist Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) that have been mashed together for better reading:

“Breaking: A league source tells me the NFL is investigating the possibility the Patriots deflated footballs Sunday night. More to come.

I’m told at one point the officials took a ball out of play and weighed it. Should hear more tomorrow on this subject.

Didn’t have a chance to talk to colts officials about this. They were long gone when I heard this.

Nobody is suggesting this is why the colts lost obviously. They were manhandled.

Told if a league investigation confirms deflated footballs it will result in lost draft picks. Stay tuned.”

At one point during New England’s win against the Indianapolis Colts, the football in use was removed from the game and would not be placed back in the contest. It was revealed that the ball in question was excessively deflated and not fit to be used.

The reason a team would attempt to deflate a ball would be to make it easier to throw and catch.

According to league rules, a football cannot be deflated outside of the parameters of 12.5-13.5 pounds of air. As Kravitz pointed out, if the NFL finds out the Patriots were cheating, which would not be the first time they were caught breaking the rules, the penalty will be the forfeit of draft picks.

It should be noted that the NFL is actively investigating New England’s involvement in at least one ball being deflated.

Michael Terrill is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelTerrill, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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