The NFL reinstated on Wednesday the two New England Patriots staffers at the center of the Deflategate controversy.
“Last week, the New England Patriots requested the reinstatement of both John Jastremski and Jim McNally,” the league announced. “The Patriots have satisfied the league’s requirements for reinstatement and the league has granted permission for the employees to return.”
The Wells Report accused the pair of partaking in a “more probable than not” scheme to let the air out of footballs prior to the AFC Championship Game. Jastremski, who transported the balls from the referee’s locker room to the field, aroused suspicions by taking a 100-second bathroom break, which, Wells theorized, allowed him to let air out of the game balls.
The pair endured the inclusion of information extraneous to the controversy but nevertheless damaging to them in the league-authorized investigation.
The Wells Report quotes McNally saying “Tom sucks” and “F— Tom” in texts. Therein, Jastremski boasts to his mom and sister that he possesses the real ball Tom Brady used to surpass the 50,000-yard passing milestone as team owner Robert Kraft proudly displayed the pigskin he mistakenly believed the quarterback used to reach the mark.
Both Brady and Kraft, as the team’s push for reinstatement and recent comments by the quarterback suggest, wanted the pair to return to work despite their comments exposed by Ted Wells.