New England quarterback Tom Brady said Thursday he was “as surprised as anybody” to learn the Patriots had played with under-inflated footballs in Sunday’s AFC championship win over the Indianapolis Colts.
“I didn’t alter the ball in any way,” Brady said. “I’ve always played within the rules. I believe in fair play.”
The veteran quarterback spoke for a half hour at the team’s practice facility in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Brady said he picked out 24 footballs before the AFC title game for officials to inspect before the game.
“I have a process I go through before every game where I go in and pick the balls, the footballs that I want to use for the game,” Brady said. “Our equipment guys do a great job of breaking the balls in. They have a process that they go through. When I pick those footballs out, at that point, to me, they’re perfect. I don’t want anyone touching the balls after that, I don’t want anyone rubbing them, putting any air in, taking any air out, to me those balls are perfect and that’s what I expect when I’m on the field.
“Obviously the integrity of the sport is very important.”
When asked directly if he was a cheater, the 37-year-old was emphatic: “I don’t believe so. I believe I’ve always played within the rules.”
Brady’s remarks echoed those of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who similarly pleaded ignorance in a news conference earlier Thursday.
“Everyone’s obviously trying to figure out what happened,” Brady said. “I was as surprised as anybody when I heard about this Monday morning.”
Previously, Belichick said he had “no knowledge whatsover” of the alleged tampering with game footballs. Some had interpreted the coach’s remarks — including the observation that quarterbacks are more sensitive to the weight and pressure of the ball — as deflecting blame to Brady.
Asked to comment on the gravity of the accusations, Brady was glib.
“This isn’t ISIS,” he quipped. “Nobody’s dying.”
Bob Kravitz of WTHR-TV first reported the league was looking into the Patriots’ use of underinflated footballs hours after New England’s 45-7 win over Indianapolis at Gillette Stadium. NFL spokesman Michael Signora confirmed the investigation Monday morning. The rule book mandates game balls must be inflated with between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds of air.
If New England is found to have deliberately tampered with game balls, the team faces a fine or loss of future draft picks.
On Monday, Brady had laughed off the allegations as “ridiculous” during a weekly radio appearance on WEEI-FM.
“I think I’ve heard it all at this point,” Brady said then. “That’s the last of my worries. I don’t even respond to stuff like this.”
The Patriots meet the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX on 1 February in Glendale, Arizona.
