Tom Brady

Tom Brady as he prepares for a game against the Minnesota Vikings. Photograph by Andrew Campbell, used under Creative Commons 2.0 Attribution license.

Every fan of the National Football League (NFL) has heard by now about “Deflategate,” the scandal involving the Super Bowl winning New England Patriots and their star quarterback, Tom Brady.  Following the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship game between the Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts (the game immediately preceding the Super Bowl), the NFL became suspicious that the Patriots, including Brady, may have purposely tampered with the air pressure in footballs used during the game.  This suspicion was only possible based on a rule change proposed years before by Brady and the Patriots, which permitted teams a degree of control over the footballs used by their respective offenses.  The allegation—possibly brought by both the Colts and the Baltimore Ravens, a prior Patriots playoff opponent—was that at some point before kickoff the Patriots were removing air from footballs to provide their quarterback with a better grip on the ball.  Removing air from footballs might also provide an advantage during running plays or after a receiver catches the ball, as it might conceivably reduce the likelihood of a fumble by the offense.  Fast forward and the Super Bowl Champion Patriots and their star quarterback have incurred severe sanctions from the NFL, in large part because of a legal doctrine known as “evidence spoliation.”

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