Count Devin McCourty among those who believe the findings of the NFL's investigation into the New England Patriots DeflateGate scandal will have absolutely no bearing on the legitimacy of a potential Patriots Super Bowl XLIX victory.
Of course, as a member of said Patriots team, McCourty may be a bit biased.
The pending unrestricted free agent safety, speaking to the media ahead of this weekend's NFL Championship Game, said that the perception of the Patriots as "cheaters" would not bother him in the least.
"If I have a ring on my finger, not at all," he said, according to a report from Michael Hurley of CBS Boston. "Not at all. I'll let 'em look at the ring."
It's probably fair to assume that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who, whenever he's asked about the DeflateGate scandal and the possible perception of himself and his team as cheaters, either avoids answering the question completely or offers something along the lines of "we're on to Seattle," won't be particularly happy with McCourty's offer.
The Patriots, of course, are under investigation by the NFL for the use of illegally deflated footballs in their AFC Championship Game victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
Belichick and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, along with every member of the team and the organization's staff, have maintained that they had zero prior knowledge of any wrongdoing.
It was revealed recently that the NFL's investigation into the matter has "zeroed in on" a member of the Patriots locker room staff, who can be seen on security video taking both the Patriots' and Colts' balls to a bathroom en route to the field, wherein he stays for approximately 90 seconds.
The league's ultimate findings aren't expected for "several weeks" and could leave something of an asterisk on this Pats season, and possibly Belichick and Brady's legacies, no matter whether they emerge from Sunday's Super Bowl game victorious or not.
