Bill Belichick Dodges Deflategate Questions on ‘Letterman’

The story behind Deflategate has been overshadowed by post-Super Bowl questions like “Why did the Seattle Seahawks throw on 2nd and goal?” and “Who is Left Shark?,” but New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick sat down with David Letterman to (brusquely) answer the late night host’s questions about the deflated ball controversy.

“I know you know exactly what happened. You know I know you know, and what it was was some kind of horseplay. Am I right?,” Letterman asks. Belichick responds gruffly, “No.” When Letterman tells the coach that Late Show staffers tested some footballs out pre-show and discovered there was a “palpable” difference between the legally inflated ball and the deflated one, Belichick responds, “Well, we all know that as the footballs get colder, they deflate, scientifically,” a theory that Bill Nye the Science Guy strongly disagrees with.

Letterman then asks Belichick about the grassy knoll of Deflategate: The locker room attendant who took what was reportedly the then-legally inflated footballs into an empty bathroom for 90 seconds prior to the AFC Championship Game. While Letterman calls the attendant “the kid,” an NFL Network report later described the ball boy as “elderly.” Sidestepping Letterman’s question, Belichick gave him a canned response, “Dave, we’re just out there playing a game, doing the best we can.”

Belichick was similarly elusive when Letterman questioned Seahawks coach Pete Carroll’s Super Bowl-losing decision to throw on 2nd down instead of ramming the ball into the end zone with running back Marshawn Lynch. “I don’t think you can criticize what they did. I think the execution… it was a great play by Malcolm Butler, that’s really what it was,” Belichick said, complementing the Patriots’ undrafted rookie cornerback whose stunning goal line interception sealed the Super Bowl XLIX win for New England. The coach wrapped up the interview by showing off his latest Vince Lombardi Trophy.