During the AFC Championship game on January 18, 2015 in Foxboro Massachusetts, controversy started with one play.

In the second quarter of the game, Indianapolis Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson intercepted a Tom Brady pass at the 1 yard line. After bringing it to the sideline, a sideline attendant noticed something different about the ball; it seemed a bit under inflated.

The seed of controversy was born.

This controversy has led many people to believe if the Patriots really deserved to be in the Super Bowl. It led many to ask: Was their win in the AFC Championship game legitimate?

The NFL had put the New England Patriots under strict scrutiny over the air pressure of 11 of 12 game balls used in the AFC Championship between the Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. According to preliminary report by WTHR-TV’s Bob Kravitz, the Patriots had been using footballs that were “overly deflated” in order to gain an advantage.

According to the NFL Rulebook, “The ball shall be made up of an inflated (12 1/2 to 13 1/2 pounds) urethane bladder.” The investigation into the footballs was looking at the pressure of the footballs used by the Patriots during the game’s first half.

On January 26, the NFL thought they had figured it all out. According to the original report by FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer, suspicion was placed on a Patriots locker room attendant who “allegedly took balls from [the] officials locker room to another area on [the] way to field.”

Later reports by NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport contradicted the original reports that all of the balls were overly deflated by as much as 2 pounds of pressure or more. According to Rapoport: “Eleven of the 12 footballs used in the first half were judged by the officials to be under the minimum of 12.5 PSI, but just one was two pounds under. Many of them were just a few ticks under the minimum.”

During the heat of the accusations of the Patriots Deflategate scandal, many players and coaches were asked for their opinions. On Super Bowl Media Day, Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots tight end added: “Deflategate has nothing to do with me except maybe my spikes.”

According to SB Nation.com, the NFL has hired investigator Ted Wells to look into “Deflategate” further. The investigation is expected to take several more weeks.

As this investigation continues to go on in the wake of the Patriot’s Super Bowl victory, many people will ask: was this just a fluke with the footballs, or was this another possible case of deviousness by the New England Patriots?

Photo source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/armydre2008/16350680255/