"Did the NFL knowingly falsify evidence, in order to place one of its own teams at a disadvantage?" This is just one of several questions we ask in our online presentation, as seek to learn more about the NFL's involvement in "DeflateGate"  ________________________________________________________

The following petition is sponsored by Fans United For Accountability (FUA)

On January 23, the NFL publicly announced that it had retained Ted Wells to investigate allegations of football tampering during the AFC Championship Game on January 17. Prior to the hiring of Mr. Wells, the New England Patriots received a letter written by NFL Senior VP David Gardi. In this letter, the NFL made a “preliminary finding” that the Patriots had indeed tampered with air pressure in footballs.

However, this letter contained serious distortions: (1) that one of the Patriots footballs was measured at 10.1 psi during halftime, and (2) that all of the Colts footballs were within league standards. But it was later revealed that all this information was wrong. Not one single football measured below 10.5, and most were within the acceptable range of natural air deflation. And according to the reading of one device, three of the four Colts footballs were below 12.5 (a league violation that the NFL has chosen to ignore) 

We believe that these claims were made with clear knowledge of fraudulence, and with the intention of deceiving the public. The NFL has yet to release any public explanation on how and why it provided inaccurate information. If the NFL claims that these figures were a simple error, then why did they chose not to correct this error as soon as it was discovered?

The NFL secretly had the real measurements all along -- yet made no attempt to address incorrect claims that were publicized in the media. In one instance, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that 11 of the 12 balls were two pounds under the 12.5 psi minimum. Mortensen was acting on an unidentified "league source" that had originated from the NFL Headquarters. Once again, the actual measurements were already known by the League. And yet nothing was done to inform the public or the Patriots of the real measurements. 

The NFL should have corrected this information quickly and aggressively. Instead, the true psi numbers were withheld from the public until the Wells report was finally released in May. As a result, Tom Brady and the Patriots spent unnecessary time dealing with falsified information, when they should have been training for the Super Bowl. Moreover, these false claims greatly distracted the Patriots and harmed the reputations of players who have dedicated their whole lives to the sport. That the Patriots ultimately won the Super Bowl should not, in any way, diminish the severity of this fact. 

The Super Bowl is the largest sporting event in the country, and the amount of betting on the event is in the billions of dollars. Our elected officials should take seriously any attempt to deliberately influence the outcome of the Super Bowl by misinformation. And when these events occurred, the NFL existed as a nonprofit under a Federal Antitrust Exemption. As such, it should have been held to a high legal standard (Anti-Trust law forbids "unfair methods of competition" and "unfair or deceptive trade practices")

We urge Attorney General Healey, Senator Warren, Senator Markey, and the nine Congressional representatives of Massachusetts, to immediately contact the NFL and determine  (1) how such a falsified letter came into being (2) and assess if there was any deliberate attempt to influence the outcome of the Super Bowl. With legalized gambling passed in Massachusetts, we cannot allow these activities to go unexplained. As both fans of football and members of the public, we are asking for any clarity you can help bring. And we are counting on you to help ensure the integrity of professional football.