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The Ted Wells report insists, at footnote 25 on page 46, that the NFL did not launch a “sting” operation against the Patriots. But that’s not the impression the body of the report creates.
Regardless of what the effort is labeled, the Wells report confirms that someone wanted to catch the Patriots in the act.
The Wells report explains that Colts G.M. Ryan Grigson sent an email to the league office raising concerns about air pressure in Patriots football. Attached to the Grigson email was a message from Colts Equipment Manager Sean Sullivan, who said “it is well known around the league that after the Patriots gameballs [sic] are checked by the officials and brought out for game usage the ballboys [sic] for the patriots [sic] will let out some air with a ball needle because their quarterback likes a smaller football so he can grip it better, it would be great if someone would be able to check the air in the game balls as the game goes on so that they don’t get an illegal advantage.