Residents in four states are far more likely to believe Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is completely innocent in the Deflategate scandal, while people in the rest of the country are much more likely to believe he is completely guilty, according results of a recent national survey.
You can probably guess which ones have No. 12’s back.
Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island all show fierce loyalty to their hometown quarterback, with roughly 80 percent of people in each state saying they believe Brady to be innocent, according to a national survey by SessionM, a Boston-based digital marketing company that focuses on “mobile loyalty and engagement.”
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In most other states, at least 80 percent of residents believe Brady is guilty, the survey shows.
The company surveyed 8,000 people, releasing results for only the 3,000 respondents who said Brady was either completely guilty or completely innocent. The results did not include the 5,000 others, who were less certain about Brady’s guilt or innocence and others who said they had not followed the controversy.
The company also sliced the data by age and gender and found that, nationally, younger people and men tended to be somewhat stronger believers in Brady’s innocence.
The results were released this week, but the polling was done about two weeks ago. The survey was reported on previously by Adweek.
Meanwhile, ESPN this week polled 100 NFL players and found that most, 72 percent, believe the Patriots are guilty of deflating footballs, but few, only 16 percent, are upset about the controversy, and most, 68 percent, said they believed other teams also illegally tamper with footballs.
Perhaps the only opinion that really matters at this point is that of Judge Richard M. Berman, who, unless a settlement is reached, will decide whether to uphold or strike down the NFL’s four-game suspension of Brady.
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Matt Rocheleau can be reached at matthew.rocheleau@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @mrochele