This is from the NFL's statement, released on 1/23 (emphasis added):
"Playing Rule 2, Section 1, which requires that the ball be inflated to between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch. Prior to the game, the game officials inspect the footballs to be used by each team and confirm that this standard is satisfied, which was done before last Sunday’s game.
"The playing rules are intended to protect the fairness and integrity of our games. We take seriously claims that those rules have been violated and will fully investigate this matter without compromise or delay. The investigation is ongoing, will be thorough and objective, and is being pursued expeditiously. In the coming days, we expect to conduct numerous additional interviews, examine video and other forensic evidence, as well as relevant physical evidence. While the evidence thus far supports the conclusion that footballs that were under-inflated were used by the Patriots in the first half, the footballs were properly inflated for the second half and confirmed at the conclusion of the game to have remained properly inflated. The goals of the investigation will be to determine the explanation for why footballs used in the game were not in compliance with the playing rules and specifically whether any noncompliance was the result of deliberate action. We have not made any judgments on these points and will not do so until we have concluded our investigation and considered all of the relevant evidence. "
This is why the lawyers who work for the NFL are paid $750 per hour, and sports "journalists" earn a fraction of that. The NFL wants to say that the balls were measured before the game, but they know that's not true, hence the word "inspected." Just about everyone in the media inferred that this meant "measured," but it clearly doesn't. If the NFL could have used this stronger term, they most certainly would have. The statement goes on to state that the evidence supports the following: (1) the balls were properly inflated for the second half; and (2) the balls were properly inflated at the end of the game. What is unstated is that the evidence does not support the conclusion that the footballs were properly inflated before the game. If the evidence could support that conclusion, that most certainly would have been stated. If fact, if the evidence gathered to date had supported that conclusion, the investigation would be over.
