When New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick declared publicly that he had no knowledge of his team's alleged under-inflating of footballs in the AFC Championship game, some questioned whether he was deflecting blame.
But according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Belichick's public comments were in line with what he indicated privately.
That's one of several new details Rapoport has gathered over the course of the NFL's investigation into the "Deflategate" scandal. Here are the rest:
- Before the start of the AFC Championship game, an elderly Patriots employee took two bags of 12 footballs into a bathroom near the referees' locker room, where he remained for 98 seconds before taking the balls to the field.
- There is video of the employee entering and exiting the bathroom, but it's unclear whether there is clear footage of inside the room.
- The Patriots were the ones who discovered that the man entered the bathroom prior to taking the footballs onto the field, and were quick to turn over video to attorney Ted Wells.
- Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady both had difficulty believing the accusations against the team. Brady told a person close to him that he has no knowledge of what happens to footballs on game day.
Rapoport also reports that just one of the 12 footballs used in the first half was two pounds under the required 12.5 PSI. The majority were just slightly under the minimum.
Wells and NFL executive vice president Jeff Pash are spearheading the investigation, which is expected to take several weeks.