Baltimore Ravens' Chris Canty Compares Deflategate to PEDs

Baltimore Ravens defensive end Chris Canty said Wednesday on NBCSN's Pro Football Talk the Patriots' alleged deflation of 11 of 12 footballs during their AFC Championship Game victory over the Indianapolis Colts is "no different" than using performance-enhancing drugs and should be treated as such.

According to Mike Florio of NBC Sports, Canty had the following to say about the alleged actions of the Patriots, who defeated the Ravens in a 35-31 thriller on Jan. 10 in the AFC Divisional Round:

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“[W]hat I’m going to say about the deflating of the balls, to me there is no difference than performance-enhancing drugs. You are cheating at that point. You are getting a competitive advantage outside of the rule book and there has to be some sort of consequences for that.”

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Canty also made reference to the Pats' murky past:

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“The Patriots are habitual line-steppers.* If the allegations are true, then you are talking about attacking the integrity of our game and I have an issue with that.

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New England's most notable instance of line-stepping, of course, was the Spygate incident in 2007, when the team was caught videotaping the Jets' defensive coaches during a game. Head coach Bill Belichick was hit with a $500,000 fine, the Patriots were fined $250,000, and the organization was forced to surrender a first-round draft pick in 2008.

That helped Belichick and the Pats earn a reputation as a coach and a team willing to do just about anything to gain an edge. As Christopher L. Gasper writes in the Boston Globe, the "Patriots' spying opened the gate" to skepticism:

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"The Patriots are guilty until proven innocent in the court of public opinion.

You can thank Spygate for that.

Being labeled a cheater is the self-inflicted wound the Patriots and Belichick, who has won more playoff games than any coach in NFL history, have to bear."

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As for Canty's comparison between the use of under-inflated footballs and the use of PEDs, it will be up to the NFL to determine just what the Patriots did and what kind of punishment it warrants.

Canty's Ravens teammate, fellow defensive lineman Haloti Ngata, was suspended four games at the end of the regular season for violating the league's PED policy. But the NFL has uniform rules in place on how to handle violations of its drug policy, updated prior to this season. 

There are no punishment standards in place—at least as far as we know—regarding deflated footballs.

As we learned earlier this season when an actual, real-life, serious issue arose—an act of domestic violence committed by then-Ravens running back Ray Rice—anything can happen when the league is responsible for playing judge, jury and executioner. 

Belichick said in a press conference Thursday he has "no explanation" for the incident dubbed DeflateGate, but the Pats are cooperating with the NFL in their investigation. 

Canty will be watching with bated breath.