The NFL’s investigation into whether members of the Patriots intentionally tampered with footballs used in Sunday’s AFC championship game against the Colts, which began earlier this week, looks like it could continue for some time. The league has issued a statement updating the progress of the investigation, which is being headed by NFL executive VP Jeff Pash and Ted Wells, who led last year’s investigation into the Dolphins’ bullying scandal. The statement, which can be found in full right here, reads, in part:
“The investigation is ongoing, will be thorough and objective, and is being pursued expeditiously. In the coming days, we expect to conduct numerous additional interviews, examine video and other forensic evidence, as well as relevant physical evidence. While the evidence thus far supports the conclusion that footballs that were under-inflated were used by the Patriots in the first half, the footballs were properly inflated for the second half and confirmed at the conclusion of the game to have remained properly inflated. The goals of the investigation will be to determine the explanation for why footballs used in the game were not in compliance with the playing rules and specifically whether any noncompliance was the result of deliberate action. We have not made any judgments on these points and will not do so until we have concluded our investigation and considered all of the relevant evidence.
“Upon being advised of the investigation, the Patriots promptly pledged their full cooperation and have made their personnel and other information available to us upon request. Our investigation will seek information from any and all relevant sources and we expect full cooperation from other clubs as well. As we develop more information and are in a position to reach conclusions, we will share them publicly.”