Nevada’s senators had stern words Thursday for the National Football League in the aftermath of findings that the New England Patriots made use of under-inflated footballs.  

“As the Senator from the only state where sports betting is legal, it is imperative the integrity of the game never be questioned. When individuals break professional rules to gain unfair competitive advantages, everyone associated with the game is impacted,” Republican Dean Heller said in a statement. “This type of behavior should never be tolerated.”  

Heller called on the league and the players union to develop new, immediate actions before the Super Bowl. That’s, of course, a huge day in the legal sports betting business in Nevada.  

His statement followed comments by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid toward the end of his first media availability since his New Year’s Day injury from an exercise accident.  

The Nevada Democrat has had a limited ability to read since his injury, not wanting to overly strain his good eye ahead of surgery on Monday. But, he said the first thing he read was the sports section of a newspaper.  

“And as far as how much weight’s in a football, as far as I know, I can’t believe the National Football League, with the billions of dollars they make, couldn’t at least determine how much air should be in a football … why it should be left up to the teams,” Reid said.  

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