Belichick said prior to this issue emerging, he was unaware of the exact process by which game balls were prepared and handled.

“Let me just say that my personal coaching philosophy and my mentality has always been to make things as difficult as possible for players in practice, and so with regard to footballs, I’m sure that any current or past player of mine will tell you that the balls we practice with are as bad as they can be. Wet, sticky, cold, slippery, however bad we can make them, I make them,” Belichick said. “Any time the players complain about the quality of the footballs, I make them worse.”