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NFL Players React To Deflategate

by April Siese

A detailed Deflategate report was released Wednesday claiming that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was "more probably than not" culpable in the months old scandal in which the Patriots allegedly deflated footballs before the AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Patriots went on to win in a 45-7 blowout, advancing to the Super Bowl but also drawing speculation as to the validity of their win. Suspicions of deflating footballs to give the team an advantage prompted the NFL to hire an independent law firm and lawyer to investigate the claims. And now that the report's out, football players are responding to Deflategate on Twitter.

Investigators had been looking into Deflategate allegations since shortly before the Super Bowl was held. Locker room attendant Jim McNally was found to allegedly be "the deflator," as he called himself, according to the report. A series of text exchanges between McNally and equipment assistant John Jastremski allegedly shows that this behavior had been going on for multiple games, not just the AFC championship. Players from around the league took to Twitter to express their relative lack of surprise and frustration, with some cracking jokes about the whole incident, though members of the Patriots stayed pretty quiet. Here's a look at how several NFL teams responded.

New England Patriots

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Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft begrudgingly accepted the Wells report, stating that "We will accept the findings of the report and take the appropriate actions based on those findings as well as any discipline levied by the league." Current and former Pats players had little to say, however.

Indianapolis Colts

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The Colts as an organization acknowledged the report on Twitter. Colts punter Pat McAfee joked about the incident that may have led to his team's AFC championship downfall, while linebacker Erik Walden sounded much more resigned in his statements.

Seattle Seahawks

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The Seattle Seahawks organization as well as players have said very little, if anything, about the Wells report. The Seahawks lost to the Patriots at Super Bowl XLIX after mounting a fourth quarter comeback in which a disaster red zone interception cost them the game.

Denver Broncos

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The Denver Broncos, who lost to the Colts during the first playoff game of the postseason were predictably vocal about the Wells report. Current defensive end Derek Wolfe decried the Patriots on a Denver sports talk show while former Bronco Shannon Sharpe delivered a lengthy assessment of the report as well as its potential consequences.

Minnesota Vikings

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Perhaps the most hilarious — if not predictable — response to Deflategate so far came from former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, who reassured his fans that his balls were at least a-okay.

Images: Getty Images (5)