It has been more than a month since Roger Goodell said that Ted Wells’s investigation into allegations that the Patriots used underinflated footballs while throttling the Colts in the AFC Championship game was nearing its end.
The time that’s passed since he last publicly commented on the end date of the investigation hasn’t done anything to shake Goodell’s belief that answers are around the corner. During an appearance with Charlie Rose on CBS This Morning on Tuesday, Goodell said that he thinks the results of the investigation will be released soon.
“What we’re trying to do is just make sure we’re thorough,” Goodell said. “The most important thing here is: Was there a violation of the rules? And if so, how did that occur? We have a responsibility to the 32 teams -- not just to one team, to 32 teams -- and our fans, and the general public here to make sure that things were done fairly. I think it’s hard because you want to make sure you have all the information. One of the things that he would be asked to look for: Was it just one game?”
Goodell wouldn’t say whether there was suspicion that the Patriots were using deflated balls in multiple games and there wasn’t comment on other issues that have been raised during the extended wait for Wells’s report, including questions about who from the league leaked information that incriminated the Patriots in the days after the issue first came to light. Should those answers take much longer to surface, Goodell might want to refrain from further predictions about how close Wells is to going public with his findings.