Emmanuel Sanders Says Patriots Shouldn't Be Super Bowl Champs After Deflategate

Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders suggested Thursday the New England Patriots don't deserve their latest Lombardi Trophy in light of the Deflategate controversy.

Mike Klis of 9News reported Sanders' colorful response to a child at former Broncos receiver Ed McCaffrey's youth football camp at Valor Christian High School:

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Am I mad about #Deflategate? I feel like I'm on ESPN with that question...Yeah, yeah, I'm kind of mad. I don't think that they should be the Super Bowl champion this year. You aren't supposed to cheat. Cheating is not good, especially when you've got guys who are working their butts off for 365 days out of the year and one person cheats—whether it helps them win the Super Bowl or not, they still cheated and shouldn't be a champion.

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Sanders had a breakout 2014 campaign in Denver, posting a career-high 101 catches, 1,404 yards and nine touchdowns. The Broncos lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the divisional round of the playoffs, failing to earn the right to face the Patriots in the AFC title game.

New England was accused of using deflated footballs in a 45-7 romp over the Colts and defeated the Seattle Seahawks to win Super Bowl XLIX thereafter.

In response, Ted Wells led an independent investigation, resulting in heavy punishment for the Pats. Legendary quarterback Tom Brady is suspended for the first four games of 2015, and New England has been fined $1 million and lost its 2016 first-round draft pick and 2017 fourth-round choice.

The Deflategate saga has been in the news recently because Brady appealed his suspension at a lengthy hearing that took place this past Tuesday, and that may be why Sanders spoke up now.

WEEI.com's Christopher Price offered an interesting layer to supplement Sanders' remarks:

Denver defeated New England to advance to the Super Bowl in the 2013 season. Whether the Broncos can mount another championship push depends in part on Sanders maintaining his high level of play and future Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning staying healthy.

Between the Spygate fiasco and this latest purported rules violation, New England has developed a reputation that has to be bothersome to players who feel they're going about the game the proper way, including Sanders.

But Sanders will get a chance at retribution: The Broncos will host the Patriots in Week 12 on Nov. 29 in a game that could have huge playoff implications.