After leaving Warner Studios, Dwayne Johnson received a very important task. Before filming began, Duke required him to become even more muscular, to appear terrifying like a monster.
Although he and most others already considered him to have a perfect physique, Dwayne Johnson went home immediately and enlisted a nutritionist and personal trainer to create a strict and scientific regimen for himself.
To perform in this movie, from the day he received the notification, Dwayne Johnson began adjusting his diet and training his body. For the next two months, he would not only continue but also put in even greater effort.
According to the plan set by his nutritionist and trainer, Dwayne Johnson had to eat the equivalent of twelve people's meals each day, spread across seven meals to supply the large amount of protein his body required. The diet's highlight was sturgeon.
"In Hawaii, there is a term called 'mana,' which refers to 'spirit.'"
During a media interview, Dwayne Johnson specifically spoke about his dedication: "'Warrior mana' is my foundation. My tattoo depicts the core symbol of this story. My mana is my DNA; it gives me a muscular body and keeps me hungry. Find your own 'mana,' follow its guidance, and inspired by it, tomorrow you will be better—yesterday is already the past."
While Dwayne Johnson worried about becoming more muscular, Duke, who gave him the order, was also troubled.
"This is a joint suppression by the elites. They're bullying us newcomers!"
In the seaside garden of Duke's estate, Leonardo DiCaprio sat at a wicker table, visibly agitated: "The Raiders won back-to-back Super Bowls, making those old-timers feel threatened. They don't want to see a new dynasty emerge. That's why they're using these methods!"
Compared with Leonardo, Duke appeared calmer. "Leo, it's like Hollywood. Every circle has its own rules."
He pointed to an official NFL report on the table. "Relax. They have no solid evidence. Even if they wanted to manipulate things, they wouldn't go too far. This is a game—they have to maintain the appearance of fairness and justice."
The new NFL season's regular games were about to begin. The NFL officially released an adjustment report targeting the Los Angeles Raiders, the back-to-back Super Bowl champions.
After last season's Super Bowl, media and teams jointly revealed that during the AFC Championship, the home team, the Los Angeles Raiders, used under-inflated game balls. The opposing Indianapolis Colts formally lodged a protest with the league. The investigation continued until now.
The media dubbed this incident "Deflategate."
In that game, the Raiders had swept the Colts 45-7 at the newly completed Lambeau Stadium, delivering a huge blow. By the third quarter, with the Colts far behind, officials complained to the referees that the Raiders' game balls were under-inflated. The referees then took two balls for inspection, triggering a chain of events that led to this investigation lasting over six months.
According to NFL rules, for outdoor games, the home team must provide 36 balls. Two hours before the game, referees test the balls' pressure to ensure compliance.
The NFL rulebook clearly specifies the acceptable pressure and weight for the balls.
The rules also stipulate that the offensive team can request "available balls" suitable for "wet, muddy, or slippery fields."
This 243-page investigation report on "Deflategate" concluded that the Raiders' locker room staff and an equipment assistant were more likely than not to have deliberately deflated the balls after the referees' inspection.
The report also focused on the Raiders' core and offensive leader, Tom Brady, stating it was more likely than not that he knew about the improper deflation and recommended heavy penalties for both the Raiders and Tom Brady.
Whether the Raiders actually deflated the balls to make them easier to catch, Duke did not know, nor did he want to. As a team owner, in such a case, one must protect the team's interests.
Most NFL team owners have held their teams for over ten years, often as inherited family property, much like the major Hollywood studios with DreamWorks. They dislike outside forces.
Duke and Leonardo had just joined this game. Normally, this wouldn't matter, but the Raiders had won the Vince Lombardi Trophy for two consecutive seasons. Clearly, they became a thorn in many people's sides.
This was certainly an action targeting the Raiders. As long as Tom Brady received a long suspension, the team's performance would inevitably decline.
Indeed, the Raiders may have deflated balls, but they were neither the first nor the last to do so.
Anyone with basic knowledge of competitive sports knows that beneath the guise of fairness and justice lie countless unspoken rules.
In North American professional sports leagues, deflating balls is almost common. After the "Deflategate" results came out, media outlets cited several famous examples and dug up old cases.
In a 1986 interview by veteran NBA journalist Sam Smith, legendary NBA coach Phil Jackson admitted that the New York Knicks had indeed deflated balls at that time.
"We would try to let some air out of the game balls. As you know, they are generally inflated to 7–9 psi. We'd use a needle to let out some air, making the ball a bit softer," the newspaper quoted Jackson. "This helps our offense because we are a team that prefers passing over dribbling. The amount of air doesn't matter much for us, but it slows down the opponents, especially teams that like to dribble, since the ball won't bounce back quickly."
The report also mentioned that in the 1970s, the New York Knicks played at a slower pace and did not have physical advantages, but they used their own characteristics to win two NBA championship trophies, relying on passing and ball sharing.
Interestingly, after his old actions were dug up, Phil Jackson responded via social media, writing: "The fun of Twitter is correcting mistakes. The Knicks used deflated balls? That's wrong! The game balls are supposed to be 7–9 psi. We wanted 7 psi, that's not a violation!"
However, journalists were unconvinced. According to modern basketball rules, the balls should be 7.5–8.5 psi, so Jackson's requested 7 psi was clearly illegal.
They mocked, "Unless the rules were different back then."
In addition, some American reporters revealed that "the Strategist" Pat Riley and veteran coach Jerry Sloan were also skilled at deflating balls.
Once some tacit rules are exposed, there must be consequences.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell subsequently issued a statement: "We will discipline the Los Angeles Raiders and make necessary changes to the game rules to prevent such incidents in the future. At the same time, we will continue our relentless efforts to protect the fairness of competition and always advocate fair play."
Duke was never the type to passively take a beating.
At that time, the head referee submitted a report, which was disclosed by Warner's TMZ website.
"There is no evidence proving that other Raiders personnel participated in or knew about violating game rules or intentionally circumventing the rules mentioned in the report. I particularly believe that the Raiders' players and head coach, compared to other coaches, had no improper behavior or knowledge of improper behavior in this investigated incident."
The head referee's report was undoubtedly more persuasive. While it could not prove the Raiders did not deflate the balls, it was enough to demonstrate the innocence of the players and coaches.
Having struggled and fought in Hollywood until now, Duke knew that compromise was not necessarily weakness. Compromise is an art and a means to achieve goals. As long as the league did not go too far, he could accept the Raiders receiving some punishment. But if they tried to suspend Tom Brady or other key players for a long time, he had ample time and money to play along with the NFL officials.
For this reason, Duke also issued a strongly worded statement to warn certain people not to go too far.
"During this nearly six-month investigation, we have cooperated and patiently waited for the results. Disappointment and anger cannot express our response to a report that contains no irrefutable or strong evidence proving we deliberately deflated balls in the AFC Championship. America is a country with a sound legal system; you are innocent until proven guilty!"
Immediately afterward, Duke's spokesperson Panny Kallis announced that they had commissioned a legal team, known as the "NFL's official nemesis," to serve as the Raiders' attorneys, showing their determination to fight a prolonged federal lawsuit against the NFL.
Not only that, Warner-affiliated media quickly followed, releasing reports claiming that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's negligence and vengeful mentality allowed this trivial matter to escalate rapidly.
Many media outlets dramatized that even if "Deflategate" were true, it was merely that, before an AFC Championship, a minor Raiders staffer brought game balls into the locker room and used a needle to let some air out.
In reality, it was just a ridiculous little trick that slightly violated game rules.
If proven, this behavior was indeed wrong and deserved punishment, but there was no need to spend nearly half a year and millions of dollars investigating, nor to exaggerate, be indignant, or follow rigid legal procedures.
The Los Angeles Times even directly criticized Roger Goodell: "The Raiders are not a terrorist organization. Do you really have to act like the White House in charge?"
...
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