ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham published a long investigative report on Tuesday, detailing the history of the Patriots’ run-ins with the NFL when it came to bending the rules.
Tracing from Spygate to Deflategate, the report looks to provide context as to why the NFL was so hell-bent on pursuing a harsh punishment for the seemingly innocuous act of playing with slightly under-inflated footballs.
One of the most damning parts of the report is when Van Natta and Wickersham get confirmation from anonymous former Patriots employees that the team used to send an employee to opponents’ locker rooms to steal their play sheets.