'Deflategate' makes Kurt Warner wonder if Patriots won '02 Super Bowl fairly

Tom Brady led the New England Patriots on a remarkable run to capture Super Bowl XXXVI, but his counterpart in the 2002 title game now has his doubts about the game's even-handedness. 

Kurt Warner, the St. Louis Rams' quarterback at the time, is questioning whether the game was played fairly because of the Patriots' recent "Deflategate" accusations.

"I don't want to believe that there was anything outside of his team beat our team," Warner told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News on Tuesday. "That's what I want to believe. Yeah, there's a sliver of a doubt … Was there any advantage they gained in any game? Not just our Super Bowl game, but maybe a game before that to get to the Super Bowl. 

"All those things enter your mind. It's not because I'm bitter. It's not because I say they cheated, because I have no idea."

Warner believes controversies like "Deflategate" and "Spygate" obscure the legacies of everyone involved. 

"It adds a sliver of doubt, which I think is unfair to everybody," Warner said. "It's unfair to them and their legacy. It's unfair to me and my legacy. I don't want to have to wonder, 'Well, did they beat me fair and square or was there something extra?' That's the unfortunate part that I don't think you'll ever get over, because you know something was done outside the rules. 

The thing that bothers Warner the most is that he'll most likely never know.

"I have no idea how it helped them. I don't know if it gave them an advantage on one play that turned into an interception or touchdown," he said. "Or gave them no advantage. I don't know."