So the two Patriots equipment dudes who were at the center of the Deflategate media tornado, John Jastremski and Jim McNally, are back on the job by the graces of the National Football League , and it’s like this whole thing never happened.
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John Jastremski and Jim McNally likely will be reinstated from their suspensions “within the next 24-48 hours”, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The NFL alleged that before the AFC Championship game on January 18 McNally improperly left the officials’ locker room with the Patriots’ game balls and took them into a bathroom to let out some of the air pressure in the footballs, and he did so under the orders of Jastremski and quarterback Tom Brady.
Jastremski and McNally became central figures in the case due to text messages they exchanged in the weeks and months prior to the January game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Despite that court victory, Patriots owner Robert Kraft has not appealed the $1 million (885,000 euros) fine and the loss of a first-round draft pick next year and a fourth-rounder in 2017 imposed by the league.
The NFL announced on Wednesday that the league has granted both men permission to return to work.
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“Absolutely not. That was a decision by the Patriots”, Goodell said.
