Jan 22, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady talks to the media at Gillette Stadium. Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said he hasn’t yet spoken to NFL investigators regarding the underinflated footballs controversy, but he’s now putting those thoughts and feelings aside leading up to Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks.
Brady talked to ESPN’s Chris Berman during halftime of Sunday night’s Pro Bowl.
“No, no. I believe they’re going to do after the season, so we’ll deal with it after this game,” Brady said when asked if he had been contacted personally about the underinflated footballs.
“I think everybody’s locked in, ready to go for this Super Bowl. It’s a great opportunity for us, you know, and our guys have worked really hard so, hopefully we can go out there and play our best on Sunday.”
On Monday morning, the backlash from the so-called “deflategate” continued for Brady during his weekly appearance on sports radio WEEI in Boston.
“I personalize a lot of things and thought this was all about me and my feelings got hurt, and then I moved past it because it’s not serving me,” Brady said Monday.
“I think what’s serving me is to try to prepare for the game ahead, and I’ll deal with whatever happens later. I’ll have my opportunity to try to figure out what happened and figure out a theory like everyone else is trying to do. But this isn’t the time for that, and honestly I’m not interested in trying to find out right now because we have the biggest game of our season ahead.”
During the radio interview, Brady was asked whether he has ever told an equipment manager or ball boy to deflate the football after the officials’ pregame inspection.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “No, I didn’t. And I haven’t. And I never will. I think that’s obviously how I feel and the kind of person that I am.
“No one knows the facts. I pick 24 balls, that’s what I pick. Whatever happened after I did it, and whatever the situation was where they measured them, I have no idea any of those facts. So I try to stay really humble and deal with the facts that I know. When you don’t know something, that’s all you can say is, ‘I don’t know.’ I know that’s not always the answer that people want to hear, but that’s the reality.”
For the past week, the Patriots have been dealing with distractions from the media regarding the NFL investigation.
Coach Bill Belichick — under fire since underinflated footballs were used in the AFC Championship Game — said Saturday at a news conference that the Patriots had studied and simulated the process of ball preparation and he believes they “absolutely followed every rule to the letter.”
The NFL is investigating the Patriots after 11 of 12 game balls they used in their 45-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC title game were found to be underinflated.
“Everybody is entitled to their opinion,” Brady said Monday on WEEI when asked if he’s learned this week about who his friends truly are. “Everyone will say, ‘God, it’s been a tough week for you.’ But it’s been a great week for me, to really be able to recalibrate the things that are important in my life and understand the people that support me, and love me, and care about me. I think that’s been the best thing to come out of this week.
“It’s all part of the business and you deal with the ups and the downs, the good and the bad, and I’m excited to play in the Super Bowl for the sixth time. It’s a pretty amazing accomplishment for our team based on where we started. That’s where I’m at; I’m in a great place. We’ve had a great week in practice. We’re going to go down and try to finish strong.”
During Sunday night’s interview with ESPN, Brady was asked whether the investigation has affected the team’s preparation in any way.
“I certainly hope not. I think we’re a pretty mentally tough team, and I think we’ve dealt with other things in the past,” Brady said. “I think Coach has always said ‘ignore the noise’ and we have to focus on the task at hand, which is a great Seahawks team. I’m excited to play in another Super Bowl. You don’t get many of these opportunities in your life. … We finished our last practice (Sunday) here in Foxborough, and we head out (Monday) to Phoenix, so it will be good to get there and get into the week. I think we feel good about where we’re at.”
