In addition to the "deflator" and "ESPN" texts sent from Patriots locker room attendant Jim McNally to equipment assistant John Jastremski, the Wells Report pointed to other text exchanges between the two team employees as evidence that they had somehow tampered with the air pressure in game footballs.
Three days before New England's Week 8 game with the Bears, Jastremski texted McNally the following:
Can‟t wait to give you your needle this week :)
According to Patriots counsel Daniel Goldberg, there was a logical explanation for that message, even though McNally's game-day duties do not include his direct involvement in the preparation of game footballs.
Per Goldberg, there were times when officials in the officials locker room would need two needles -- one for the air pump and one for the gauge -- yet only had one. It was then McNally's job to go to the Patriots equipment room, where Jastremski worked, to pick up a second needle.
Here's the relevant annotation from the Patriots document released today called "The Wells Report in Context."
As was also fully explained to the investigators, another issue that Mr. Jastremski and Mr. McNally often tweaked each other about dealt with Mr. McNally’s duties as the Officials’ Locker Room attendant. It was the standard practice for Mr. McNally to deliver a gauge and a pump from the equipment room to the Officials’ Locker Room for their use in their pre-game inspection. Sometimes, Mr. McNally was provided with a gauge and pump with only one of them having a needle in it. This would lead Officials relying on the Patriots equipment for their pre-game inspection to have to take out the needle and move it back and forth between the gauge and pump during. (pg. 80). Officials would, on those occasions, often send Mr. McNally back to the equipment room to get a second needle that they could use. Mr. McNally had to ask Mr. Jastremski for any needles requested by an official. This became a running joke between the two of them. Whatever needles Mr. McNally got in that context went to the officials and were kept in the Officials’ Locker Room and then returned to the equipment room after the game.
New England Patriots
Goldberg goes on to write that there is no evidence contained in the Wells Report that would implicate McNally as having handled footballs on game days and using a needle on them inappropriately.
Not a shred of evidence in the report shows Mr. McNally using a needle or even transporting one other than to the Officials’ Locker Room. Not a single witness ever saw Mr. McNally handling the footballs as he carried them to the field in two large bags, let alone handling a football with a needle in his hand. There is simply no basis to conclude, as the report does, that every reference to a needle refers to a needle to be used for the purpose of deflating footballs after the referee’s inspection.