Deflate-gate: Patriots Owner Kraft Says Brady, Belichick Mistreated
— -- In his first public remarks on the under-inflated football flap, Patriots owner Bob Kraft doubled down on the team's position that they were involved in no wrongdoing with regards to the football deflation scandal.
Saying he spoke to both quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick about the matter, and that both expressed no knowledge of what happened, Kraft said he believes them totally "and has never known them to lie to him."
At a news conference today at the site of the Super Bowl in Chandler, Arizona, Kraft expressed his disappointment at the treatment of Brady and Belichick, as well as the "media leaks" that have kept the story roiling.
"I want to make it clear that I believe unconditionally that the New England Patriots have done nothing inappropriate," Kraft said. He also asked that the NFL apologize if its investigators find no wrongdoing in the case.
Meanwhile, the NFL has zeroed in on a New England Patriots locker room attendant who allegedly took the AFC Championship Game balls from the officials' locker room to another area on the way to the field, Fox Sports reported, citing sources.
According to Fox Sports, the league has interviewed him and has video.
The league is still gauging if any wrongdoing occurred, but he is a strong person of interest, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Ted Wells, the investigator hired by the NFL, said Monday that he expects his investigation to last at least several more weeks.
"We are following customary investigative procedures and no one should draw any conclusions about the sequence of interviews or any other steps, all of which are part of the process of doing a thorough and fair investigation," Wells said in a statement.
In a news conference on Thursday that lasted a little more than 30 minutes, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady detailed how he selected 24 footballs for referees to inspect before Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts and said he "didn't alter the ball in any way."
The NFL found that 11 of the Patriots' 12 game balls from their 45-7 win were inflated significantly below the NFL's requirements, league sources involved and familiar with the investigation of Sunday's game told ESPN's Chris Mortensen.
The NFL on Friday released a statement on their investigation, saying they had conducted nearly 40 interviews to that point. Patriots wide receiver Matthew Slater said Saturday that the NFL Players Association has advised Patriots players not to discuss the ongoing investigation.
Also on Saturday, Belichick detailed the organization's preparation process and suggested that weather conditions may have affected the air pressure in the footballs. The longtime Patriots coach emotionally defended his team, saying, "We did everything as right as we can do it."
With reporting by ESPN and ABC NEWS' Carlos Boettcher.
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