Another year, another ball controversy in New England – but this time it wasn’t the Patriots’ fault.
All seemed in place for the Pats’ divisional playoff against Kansas City, which kicked off last Saturday at 4.35pm at Gillette Stadium. But one thing was missing: the game balls, which match officials had left at their hotel.
About two hours before kickoff, officials realised their mistake, and contacted Massachusetts state police to admit they had forgotten their equipment. Fortunately, the police were ready to roll.
Police spokesman David Procopio took up the story: “At approximately 2.30pm Saturday, police at Logan airport were notified by the Hyatt hotel that the officials at Gillette Stadium for that afternoon’s game had left official, specially designated footballs and pressure gauges behind at the hotel.
“We contacted an NFL security official at Gillette Stadium. NFL security requested state police assistance in bringing the footballs and gauges to the stadium. The footballs in question are referred to as K-balls, short for kicking balls. They are the official footballs provided by the league for use in kicking plays.
“A hotel employee retrieved the equipment. Thomas Coffey, who was on duty at Troop F that afternoon, along with the hotel employee, drove the K-balls and gauges to Gillette Stadium, arriving at approximately 3.30pm, and turned them over to the NFL.”
The police got to the stadium an hour before kickoff, and the match started on time. The Patriots produced an impressive display to beat the Chiefs 27-20 and set up another AFC championship clash, this time against the Broncos.
Saturday was two days shy of the one-year anniversary of last year’s AFC title game, the infamous Deflategate encounter. After an investigation, the NFL found that the Patriots were using underinflated footballs that day: they stripped the team of first- and fourth-round draft choices and fined them $1m. Tom Brady was also punished with a four-game suspension, but after a lengthy legal fight over the summer, that decision that was overturned in federal court.
This time, no punishment was necessary. The game officials’ embarrassed faces probably sufficed.
