Roger Goodell weighs in on Giants-Steelers Deflategate saga
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday that the league was “comfortable that the protocols were followed” in relation to the Giants-Steelers Deflategate controversy that occurred in Week 13.
The Giants told the league that two footballs used by the Steelers were underinflated during the teams’ matchup earlier this month. The NFL said that no “formal complaint” was filed by the Giants and that “official game ball procedures were followed,” a sentiment echoed by Goodell during his news conference Wednesday.
“We went back to look to make sure the protocols were followed properly. They were,” Goodell said, via Pro Football Talk. “The Giants had asked us about it during the game. We went back, we checked that. They were properly followed. All of the league protocols being properly followed, there’s no further followup on that. The teams didn’t follow up, we didn’t follow up any further because we were comfortable that the protocols were followed.”
Goodell said the Giants tested the footballs with a different device than the one approved by the league.
Steelers players and coaches didn’t seem very concerned when the controversy initially made headlines. Ben Roethlisberger jokingly told reporters the Steelers use “Nerf balls.”
