It’s well known that the NFL is investigating whether the Patriots violated the rules regarding the inflation of footballs in Sunday’s AFC title game against the Colts. It’s now also known that the investigation will end fairly soon.
Appearing on Tuesday’s PFT Live on NBC Sports Radio, NFL executive V.P. of football operations Troy Vincent confirmed that the league is investigating the situation. He disclosed that it won’t take much longer.
“We’re hoping to wrap that up in the next two or three days,” Vincent said. “The team is in place in New England now interviewing staff members.”
Vincent didn’t specify when decisions will be made or punishment imposed.
“We obviously want to get that on the table, get that behind us so that we can really get back to the game itself.”
So why is this being treated as such a big deal?
“For a fan, you want to know that everything’s equal,” Vincent said. “The integrity of the game is so important.”
Anything that impacts the integrity of the game is important, even if it seems trivial or meaningless, especially in a game that was destined to be a blowout. That’s why the NFL is investigating -- and that’s why harsh consequences will be meted out if the league determines that a violation occurred.