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Deflategate conspiracy theory suggests Colts deflated Patriots’ ball

By Sam Richmond

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During a radio appearance, ESPN’s Adam Schefter brought up a conspiracy theory that suggests the Indianapolis Colts, not the New England Patriots, deflated a football.

In the weeks leading up to Super Bowl XLIX, the New England Patriots’ empire fell under intense scrutiny over allegations that the team deflated footballs in the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts.

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However, is it possible the Patriots, perhaps the most hated NFL team of the past 15 years, were framed?

ESPN’s Adam Schefter, during a radio appearance on WEEI in Boston, discussed a conspiracy theory that is floating around, which suggests that the Colts were responsible for a deflated football.

From Pro Football Talk:

"“I do think there are people who believe that,” Schefter said. “I know there are people who believe that. . . . I’ll just say, I’m not even going to specify, there are people who believe that, OK? There are people who believe that. And I think there are people who have heard that theory and who say, ‘That’s impossible.’”"

The key to this conspiracy theory is a detail from an Ian Rapoport (NFL Network) report that the NFL has found that only one football was two pounds under the 12.5 PSI and the other 10 under-inflated footballs were only barely below 12.5 PSI. From there, the theory would go that the Colts took the ball that linebacker D’Qwell Jackson intercepted in the first half and deflated it and then gave it to the referee for inspection in order to frame the Patriots.

Sure, this theory sounds crazy on the surface, but it can’t be completely dismissed if it turns out that the only significantly deflated ball was the one was Jackson intercepted.

At the same time, it’s hard to imagine that the Colts came up with this elaborate plot to frame the Patriots. Why would that be a focus of theirs before such a big game and what would they have to gain from such a thing? It’s not as if people were calling for Indianapolis to be given a berth in the Super Bowl once the Patriots were accused of cheating.

Still, this is Deflategate, perhaps the strangest sports controversy of all-time, so nothing seems outside the realm of possibility.

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