AP

The Commissioner should have known it was coming.

During a Tuesday appearance on PFT Live on NBC Sports Radio, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe called his shot. Or, more specifically, disclosed the question he’d be asking Commissioner Roger Goodell: Why didn’t the NFL correct the false report from ESPN that 11 of 12 Patriots footballs were two pounds under the 12.5 PSI minimum at halftime of the AFC Championship Game?

That’s precisely what Volin asked. Here’s the answer from Goodell, via Volin:

“Ben as you know, first and foremost we went to an independent investigation that week following the AFC Championship Game. All of that focus was put to Ted Wells at that point in time — supporting him and cooperating with him fully, making sure he had any information he had. There was no more discussion about a public discussion. It was Ted Wells’ investigation. He had complete discretion on the time, scope, the amount of time that was necessary for him, who he spoke to, and we fully supported that. So we went along with that, and that was ultimately the decision we made, and we issued our discipline shortly thereafter. And we’re in the middle of a CBA process now, and now litigation.”

That’s a lot of words, none of which directly answer the question. It’s obvious that the league doesn’t want to answer the question, because there is no good answer. But that doesn’t excuse the chronic failure to address the situation directly, or to investigate the leak that became a report that turned a curiosity into a hashtag.

Here’s some free legal advice for the NFL. If Judge Richard M. Berman asks Goodell or one of the lawyers that same question tomorrow, Judge Berman will keep asking it until he gets a direct answer.

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