Part of the lengthy Wells Report investigation into the New England Patriots' Deflategate scandal concentrated on the actual science of footballs losing air under cold weather conditions.
Well, one seventh grader took that a step further, using the controversy as the base of his "How Weather Conditions Affect PSI of a Football" science project at the St. Pius V Elementary School science fair in Lynn, Mass.
"I wanted to prove that Tom Brady wasn't guilty," Ben Goodell told Itemlive.com.
Now, it's important to state that the kid has no relation to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who originally had the New England Patriots quarterback suspended for four games before the decision was appealed and eventually reversed, allowing Brady to play the entire 2015 NFL season.
According to Itemlive.com, Ben Goodell's experiment began with a properly-inflated football, which he exposed to different weather conditions, ranging from snow to ice-cold temperatures, wind chill and humidity.
"Every time, it dropped 2 PSI," Ben told Itemlive about his findings with each weather setting. "The lowest PSI recorded during deflategate was 2 PSI under proper inflation. I had [the football] at proper inflation when I started."
Interesting findings, especially considering the January 2015 AFC title game — the scene of the Deflategate scandal — had the Patriots facing the Indianapolis Colts in frigid Foxborough, Mass. temperatures. Ben's science project seemingly builds Brady's case that he didn't have any hand in deflating footballs to get an easier grip and thus, make them easier to throw in the second-half of that game, helping the Pats get to the Super Bowl and eventually win the championship.
Well, the school agreed with Ben, giving him the Outstanding Project Award for the annual science fair.
St. Pius V Elementary School principal Paul D. Maestranzi told Itemlive that the school's science fair has gone from students focusing on the term paper to the significance of the actual experiment over the years, with students incorporating relevant news.
"I think some people think science is only in a laboratory. It's really all around us all the time," Maestranzi said. "That's what gets kids hooked — relevance."
Ben's science project on Deflategate certainly got us hooked. Sports Illustrated, too.
Good job, kid.
