Peter King appeared on Richard Deitsch's podcast for the Athletic on Wednesday and revealed he once offered to resign from Sports Illustrated over his erroneous Deflategate reporting.
In 2015, King confirmed Chris Mortensen's report saying the footballs the Patriots used in the AFC Championship Game were significantly under-inflated. King apologized once the report proved to be wrong.
He told Deitsch:
"If I were a person looking at me, I would say you've done two things that were really wrong and that they both have been in favor of the NFL. And I would understand that. I got a significant fact in the Ray Rice case wrong when he visited the league office and had his hearing, and then I got a significant fact wrong when I confirmed Chris Mortensen's story about the footballs being more than two pounds under pressure. In both cases I admitted it. In one case, the Patriots' case, I offered my resignation to [Sports Illustrated editor] Chris Stone, and they said no. But I would have resigned. Because that is something you cannot get wrong. I got it wrong. I deserve all the criticism for that that comes by way."
"When I think of my career at SI, those are two things I'm ashamed of," he continued. "Because that can't happen. You can't get facts like that wrong."
King announced last week he is leaving Sports Illustrated after 29 years to join NBC Sports.
