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CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.By the time Mr. Wells was retained by the League, the League had all of Mr. Jastremski’s texts, Mr. McNally had already been interviewed three times, and Mr. Jastremski had been interviewed twice. The first of Mr. McNally’s interviews happened the evening of the AFC Championship, when Mr. McNally volunteered to stay at the stadium for an interview since he would not be back for his game-day responsibilities until August. Patriots management had not yet been advised that an investigation had started, but Mr. McNally, having nothing to hide, talked freely to the League personnel without even asking if someone from the team should be there with him. The second and third interviews happened within the next several days. Again, Mr. McNally gave these interviews without any Patriots representative with him. His phone was offered to League personnel for imaging, but they advised that they did not need his phone. (His phone data was later provided to the Wells investigators upon their request and prior to their interview with him.) At his third interview with League Security personnel, he was subjected to very aggressive questioning and demeaning assertions that he was lying when he denied any knowledge of improper football deflation. This approach to the issues by League personnel was consistent with their prejudgments of wrongdoing by the Patriots. Notwithstanding that he had already been interviewed three times, when Mr. Wells asked to interview him again, the Patriots agreed to facilitate that fourth interview. That agreement was based on an explicit understanding reached with the Wells investigators: barring unanticipated circumstances, individuals would only be interviewed by the Wells investigators one time.
Based on this understanding, the Patriots asked Mr. McNally, a game day only employee with whom the team had no ongoing employment relationship, to leave his full-time, out-of-state job in order to be available for an interview at the stadium. Prior to the interview, the Patriots prevailed upon Mr. McNally to allow his personal phone to be checked for any relevant information, all of which was provided to the Wells investigators before the interview. The investigators therefore had all of Mr. Jastremski’s texts (which were provided three weeks before Mr. McNally was interviewed) as well as Mr. McNally’s phone records. The Wells investigators brought four lawyers to the McNally interview. They spent the entire day with him. He gave over seven hours of testimony. He answered every question. Among other things, the Wells investigators inquired at length about texts with Mr. Jastremski. Having taken a day off work, he was willing to stay as long as it took to finish. The interview did not end until the investigation team exhausted every topic and question they had.
Thus, when subsequently asked for what would have been a fifth interview of Mr. McNally, Patriots counsel wanted to understand what unanticipated circumstances warranted this, including whether the interview would be limited to matters that were simply not available to the investigators during Mr. McNally’s prior interview. The Patriots advised the investigators of their reluctance to have Mr. McNally back yet again, particularly given the media harassment he and his family had suffered as a result of prior leaks of Mr. McNally’s name and hometown. The distress to him and his family caused by the ensuing media attention was described in detail to the investigators. With this background, there was a high hurdle before the Patriots would ask Mr. McNally to appear yet again for what would be his fifth interview, and a particular desire to be sure that the standard for another interview — unanticipated circumstances — was met.
While the report states that certain of Mr. Jastremski’s texts were not “discovered” until after this interview (pg. 75, footnote 47), there is no question that the investigators had all such texts in their possession and available for the questioning. They apparently just overlooked them, identifying them now as a matter they wanted to cover in yet another interview. (pg. 75) Although asked numerous times for the reason for their request for yet another interview with Mr. McNally, the Wells investigators never stated the reason that now appears evident from the Report: They had overlooked texts in their earlier interviews and wanted the opportunity to ask about them. This information would have confirmed what is now clear. The request was inconsistent with the interview protocol agreed to at the outset.
Although receiving no assurances that the requested additional Mr. McNally interview would satisfy the agreed-upon interview protocol, Patriots counsel nonetheless suggested that there might be ways other than another in-person interview to get whatever further information was sought. Patriots counsel offered to be of assistance in those respects. There was no follow-up from the investigators. It now appears that the Patriots are being severely punished because the Wells investigative team apparently overlooked materials they had in their possession long before their interview with Mr. McNally — scarcely an “unanticipated circumstance” calling for yet another interview — and refused to disclose their reason for an additional interview. There was no refusal to cooperate by the Patriots.
Well when you think about it 50-yard-line, McNally didn't need a pump or a gauge to spend 1 minute and 40 seconds blindly deflating balls in a bathroom minutes before the AFC Championship game for Tom fanatical about his footballs Brady.
Naaaaah, McNally just pulled each ball out of the bag and counted "One Mississippi.......Two Mississippi........" with the sound of hissing psi vanishing into thin air...........
It SHOCKS me that smart peeps in the media have never questioned the validity of the 'he did it in the bathroom' scenario.
McNally is in that bathroom for 5 minutes....you've got my attention.
McNally is in that bathroom for 10 minutes.... the Patriots are in deep trouble.
McNally was in that bathroom for *1 minute and 40 seconds*.
Have never bought this scenario. Next to the science this is the weakest part of this story and yet
no one in the media questions it.
Amazing!!!
The Wells investigators brought four lawyers to the McNally interview. They spent the entire day with him. He gave over seven hours of testimony. He answered every question. Among other things, the Wells investigators inquired at length about texts with Mr. Jastremski.
It's funny but I don't recall the Wells report citing McNally's SEVEN HOUR side of the story.
But then again we never read about Brady's FIVE AND ONE HALF HOUR side of the story did we.
And as we found out yesterday, Wells team had the text messages from McNally and JJ at the time McNally was interviewed . Wow does this report smell worse and worse every single day.
SEVEN hours?? I also would have told Wells to go pound it when he came back for round 2.
This is about psi in a football..... Unreal!!!!
And what is the limit under the CBA for the length of questioning? How many trials have you watched? It not unusual for a witness to take a full day on the stand.
I just don't buy any scenario that involves spending 1 min and 40 secs deflating footballs in a bathroom prior to the AFC championship game.From the beginning of this whole thing, I've been saying that a more plausible scenario to me (if there actually was deflation!!!!!!!!!) was that Brady got pissed at Jastremski, who paid it forward to McNally, who would, if the opportunity came up, pop a pin in a ball that felt too hard to him.
He didn't want to face the wrath of Brady.
Think of all the texts, all the F-bombs at Brady, and the scenario Wells presented. And just human nature and who had the most to lose.
Which is more plausible, my scenario or Wells's?
I just don't buy any scenario that involves spending 1 min and 40 secs deflating footballs in a bathroom prior to the AFC championship game.
And remember 2 things. All kinds of people were around and an NFL official was standing right there when McNally walked right by him and out of the refs room with the footballs. And secondly there was no hurry, no rush going on at the time. The start of the game was delayed. There was no reason for Jim McNally to get into a bathroom and quickly deflate footballs in 1 min and 40 secs. He had plenty of time.
The guy was taking a freakin' leak is what he was doing.
Oh and by the way the refs gave McNally the footballs to take out onto the field before THE SECOND HALF. The footballs that had been gauged and reinflated.
Remember how Walt Anderson told Wells he lost the footballs from the refs room "for the 1st time in his 19 years" and they tracked them down in McNally's possession??
Anderson and Co. were so concerned they let McNally take them again.
It's quite possible that the excessive aspect of the interviews was done to portray the Patriots staffers and Brady as uncooperative, because thay knew their case was weak.
Especially if Brady did a hissy fit saying 12.5! Would he take a chance it is 12.2 and Brady freaks out again?Without a pump or a gauge.
Think about that, right?
It is so easy to mess up and let out a ton of air - THEN WHAT?
Did he get a 1 minute, 40 second piss break during those 7 hours??? Just wondering...
I've been reading around and apparently 7 hours for an interview, even for something so dumb as this, isn't too out of the ordinary. McNally is not going to find much sympathy for this and refusing a second interview.
Slow reader.7 hours yet hadn't gone through all of his texts.