Report: Patriots asked the NFL to reinstate suspended employees
The New England Patriots have reportedly asked the NFL to reinstate suspended employees John Jastremski and Jim McNally, reports Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.
Jastremski and McNally were suspended indefinitely by the Patriots in May after the Ted Wells report emerged in the heat of the Deflategate scandal.
The two employees became key parts of the deflated footballs saga after text messages they exchanged prior to the 2015 AFC championship game in January were unveiled. In the messages, McNally called himself “the deflator” and suggested that he let the air out of footballs in order to receive free shoes and signed memorabilia.
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With his four-game suspension now overturned, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has advocated for the reinstatement of Jastremski and McNally.
“Of course,” Brady said on WEEI’s “Dennis and Callahan” show when asked if he wanted the two employees to return to the team. “Of course none of those things are my decisions, but I feel terrible for what they’ve been put through, what their families have been put through. I know what my family’s been put through and what’s happened. I just feel terrible that they’re not with the team.”
New England opens the 2015 season against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday.
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