Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti "issued an emphatic denial of a report alleging that he attempted to exert pressure on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to uphold" Patriots QB Tom Brady's four-game suspension, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore SUN. ESPN's Sal Paolantonio on Friday reported that owners, including Bisciotti and the Colts' Jim Irsay, "want Goodell to not reduce Brady's league discipline." But Bisciotti in a team-issued statement yesterday said, "I have not and will not put any pressure on the Commissioner or anyone representing the NFL office to take action in what everyone is calling 'Deflategate.' The story circulating that I have put pressure on Roger is 100% wrong. The reports are unfair to [Patriots Owner] Robert Kraft, who is an honorable person, and to his franchise" (Baltimore SUN, 7/27). Paolantonio appeared on XEPRS-AM Friday and talked about the report last week that several owners were pressuring Goodell to uphold the four-game ban. He said, "You’re angering some of the hardcore owners out there, and I know who they are and I'm going to name them right now -- Jim Irsay of the Colts, Steve Bisciotti of the Ravens, and others in the AFC who believe that the Patriots have gotten away with murder for years and have not been publicly punished properly" (ESPN.com, 7/25). ESPN's Jemele Hill said, "The owners that are convincing you to do this are owners who kind of have a vested interest in seeing the Patriots deflated, so to speak." ESPN's Howard Bryant: "You've got the Browns, you've got the Falcons, you've got the Saints ... who are like, 'Wait a minute. You wiped out our season over Bountygate, and you're going to let this slide?'" ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 7/26).
MUDDYING THE WATERS: ESPN's Mike Golic noted the definition of Goodell hearing Brady's appeal is he "has to be unbiased ... and if owners -- the people he works for -- are influencing him or trying to influence him to do whatever -- in this case keep the four-game suspension -- then he becomes (biased)." The Ravens are "already screaming from the mountaintops, ‘No, we haven't done anything like that.’" But Golic said if it can be proven that the Ravens did pressure Goodell, it "would be horrible for the league that their owners are trying to influence their employee, Roger Goodell, to keep the suspension wherever it is." Golic: "Any involvement by the owners could be looked at in a bad way by the court.” However, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said, “There are owners all along who have been influential in this process, and to think that they haven't been would be naive." He said Goodell "leans on his bosses and listens to what they have to say and does what he believes is in the best interest of the NFL." Schefter: "There have been owners all along who have definitely weighed in, and I know there are people in the New England camp who felt like, when the suspension came down and the team was fined the first- and fourth-round picks and fined the $1 million, that it was to -- in many ways -- appease some of the owners. They felt like even if this goes to court and the court rules in favor of Tom Brady, that Roger Goodell could say to all his owners, ‘I did what I had to do.’ They believe that the stance that he's taking here has helped rally support for his commissionership under their watch” (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 7/27).
STAND BY YOUR MAN: In Boston, Ben Volin wondered why the 32 NFL owners “continue to stick behind” Roger Goodell as “commissioner and face of the league.” He has “become a lightning rod for controversy, and it’s not like Goodell invented the game of football or is the only executive capable of running the league.” Yet, he “isn’t going anywhere.” Several influential owners -- including Kraft, the Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, the Giants’ John Mara and the Texans’ Bob McNair -- “have endorsed Goodell, and if the PR crises of the past year didn’t put his job in jeopardy, nothing will.” When Goodell “came into power, NFL ownership was a fractured group between old owners and new owners, big market vs. small market, those who supported [former NFL Commissioner Paul] Tagliabue and those who wanted a fresh voice.” As the owners “prepared to battle the union over labor, Goodell achieved the not-so-easy task of uniting” all of them -- a feat that “seems mundane but carries significant weight” with the group (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/26).
INFLATED EFFORT: FOXSPORTS.com's Mike Pereira reported the NFL this weekend told its officials that there "will be new procedures" for the '15 season regarding how footballs "will be prepared and monitored." The main developments are the "number of footballs prepared, random testing and changes in the oversight of the footballs once they've been checked by officials." The referee "will designate two members of his crew to conduct a pregame inspection to make sure all footballs meet the required specifications." The officials "will number the balls 1-12," and they will "measure the PSI and record that measurement corresponding to the numbered ball." Last season, "no such record was kept." The game balls "will be distributed to each team's ball crew in the presence of the league security representative." The backup balls "will remain secured in the officials' locker room until needed" (FOXSPORTS.com, 7/26).
