The New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has stated that he expects an apology from the NFL if no culprit is found responsible for the deflategate scandal within the organization.
Ever since the accusations of the Patriots using under inflated balls in the AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts, the entire organization has been under the magnifying glass of the NFL ever since.
The investigation since that game has been one of the major media stories throughout the entire sports world. The investigation did in fact turn up the fact that 11 of the 12 game balls used by the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game were deflated outside of NFL guidelines.
Although the balls have been found to be deflated, the NFL investigation has yet to identify the individual responsible for the actual act of deflating the balls.
The investigation, being led by attorney Ted Wells, is still looking for a culprit and, unless one is found, there will likely be minimal punishment for the organization as a whole. That said, Robert Kraft still expects an apology from the NFL is no individual is found to be responsible.
“If the Wells investigation is not able to definitively determine that our organization tampered with the air pressure on the footballs, I would expect and hope that the league would apologize to our entire team, and in particular, coach [Bill] Belichick and Tom Brady for what they have had to endure this past week,” said Kraft is a statement.
Kraft vouched for the sanctity of his team and his organization, saying, “I want to make it clear that I believe unconditionally that the New England Patriots have done nothing inappropriate in this process or in violation of NFL rules.”
While there is still time for the investigation to turn up new results, focus will certainly be on the Patriots this week in the lead up to Superbowl XLIX.