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Report: Senator Wants To Reopen Pats 'Spygate'

(Click here to view the original thread on the MassCops Message Board)

Posted by: kwflatbed

NFL Commissioner To Address Controversy

BOSTON -- Less than three days before the Super Bowl, a leading national lawmaker wants to reopen the New England Patriots spying investigation.

The story erupted last September when the Patriots were caught recording the New York Jets' defensive signals. The infraction cost the Patriots $750,000 and a first round draft pick.

Now, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, wants NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to face lawmakers, according to the New York Times.
Specifically, Specter wants to know why the league destroyed video tapes related to "Spygate." He said the committee also wants to question the NFL about the league’s antitrust exemption in relation to its television contract.

"That requires an explanation," Specter told the Times. "The NFL has a very preferred status in our country with their antitrust exemption. The American people are entitled to be sure about the integrity of the game. It’s analogous to the CIA destruction of tapes. Or any time you have records destroyed."

He even raised the idea of calling members of the Patriots before the Judiciary Committee, but said he would take things one step at a time.

"It’s premature to say whom we’re going to call or when. It starts with the commissioner. He had the tapes, and he made the decision as to what the punishment could be. He made the decision to destroy them."

Specter and the league have been in contact about the issue through December, but he said the NFL told him it wouldn't respond until after the Super Bowl.

A lifelong Philadelphia Eagles fan, Specter said he was concerned about the integrity of sports.

The Patriots were caught videotaping the Jets defensive signals during the Sept. 9 opening game of their undefeated season. The NFL promised a full investigation and required the Pats to turn over any other videos it had ever recorded. After reviewing the tapes, the league said it destroyed them "to prevent them from being used to gain a competitive advantage," according to the Times.

Goodell will address the controversy Friday morning at a news conference in Phoenix.



Previous Stories: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/spor...20/detail.html


Posted by: Badge

Just an Eagles' fan looking for hollow redemption. It was dismissed as moronic when Eagles' players suggested that the Patriots forfeit their Super Bowl rings, now you have someone with actual power starting a ridiculous inquisition. It would seem slightly more vaild if he wasn't a lifelong fan of the team we most recently defeated in a Super Bowl.


Posted by: OCKS

Why would he come out with this three days before the super bowl, if it wasn't just to f#$@ with the pats.


Posted by: 94c

Just tell him that the guys filming were undocumented workers.

End of inquiry.


Posted by: CampusOfficer

What a colossal waste of tax payers money by a Senator.


Posted by: dgove35

doesnt he have something better to do...like help run the country....


Posted by: djbfc

recently heard that Spector has received mucho dinero from Comcast and Comcast and the NFL are at odds over the NFL Network. Would'nt be shocking!!


Posted by: kwflatbed

Former Pats Video Assistant To Talk About Spygate

HONOLULU (WBZ) ― NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is willing to pursue any believable information in the Spygate case. He simply doesn't know if any exists.

Goodell says the league has been in touch with representatives of former New England Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh. Walsh is now a golf pro in Maui.

Walsh -- who did video work for the Patriots when they won their first Super Bowl after the 2001 season -- was not interviewed as part of the NFL's investigation into New England illegally taping opposing coaches in the last two years.

Senator Arlen Specter questioned the thoroughness of the NFL's investigation. He also wondered why Goodell had the six tapes turned over by the Patriots destroyed, along with notes the team gave Goodell.

Walsh reportedly videotaped the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough the day before the February 2002 Super Bowl against New England.

Specter and Goodell expect to meet in the next week or so.

http://wbztv.com/patriots/New.Englan....2.648316.html


Posted by: CJIS

Why the hell should the Senate investigate this stuff don't they have more important things to do like serve the PEOPLE?


Posted by: justanotherparatrooper

Id say its bullshit but atleast bullshit is useful for something. Spector is an ass.


Posted by: kwflatbed

Belichick has been taping since 2000, Goodell tells Specter



Related LinksWASHINGTON -- Bill Belichick has been illegally taping opponents' defensive signals since he became the New England Patriots' coach in 2000, according to Sen. Arlen Specter, who said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told him that during a meeting Wednesday.
"There was confirmation that there has been taping since 2000, when Coach Belichick took over," Specter said.
Specter said Goodell gave him that information during the 1-hour, 40-minute meeting, which was requested by Specter so the commissioner could explain his reasons for destroying the Spygate tapes and notes.
"There were a great many questions answered by Commissioner Goodell," Specter, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters after the meeting. "I found a lot of questions unanswerable because of the tapes and notes had been destroyed."
Goodell said Belichick told him he believed the taping was legal; Goodell said he did not concur.
"He said that's always been his interpretation since he's been the head coach," the commissioner said. "We are going to agree to disagree on the facts."
Specter, from Pennsylvania, wants to talk to other league officials about what exactly was taped and which games may have been compromised.
"We have a right to have honest football games," he said.
Goodell noted that "we were the ones that disclosed" the Patriots' illegal taping of the New York Jets' defensive signals in Week 1 of last season. Further, Goodell said, they had an admission by Belichick.
"I have nothing to hide," Goodell said.
Goodell also told Specter that that he doesn't regret destroying the Spygate tapes or the notes.
"I think it was the right thing to do," Goodell said.
Still, Specter wants to know why penalties were imposed on Belichick before the full extent of the wrongdoing was known and the tapes destroyed in a two-week span. Asked if he thinks there was a coverup, Specter demurred.
"There was an enormous amount of haste," Specter said.
He scoffed at the reasons Goodell gave for destroying the tapes and notes, particularly about trying to keep them out of competitors' hands and because Belichick had admitted to the taping.
"What's that got to do with it? There's an admission of guilt, you preserve the evidence," Specter said. As for keeping the tapes out of the hands of others: "All you have to do is lock up the tapes."
Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team was fined $250,000 because of the Spygate incident. The Patriots also forfeited a first-round draft pick.
Specter has questioned the quality of the NFL's investigation into the matter and raised the possibility of congressional hearings if he wasn't satisfied with Goodell's answers. Specter also raised the threat of Congress canceling the league's antitrust exemption and reiterated that in the meeting with Goodell.
Goodell also said he has not heard from Matt Walsh, the former Patriots employee who performed some videotaping duties for the team.
Walsh told The Associated Press last week during the Pro Bowl in Hawaii that he couldn't talk about allegations that he taped a walkthrough practice by the St. Louis Rams before the 2002 Super Bowl. New England, a two-touchdown underdog, won that game 20-17.
Goodell said he has offered Walsh a deal whereby "he has to tell the truth and he has to return anything he took improperly" in return for indemnity. Specter said he, too, wanted to talk to Walsh and perhaps offer a different deal.
Goodell also said he reserves the right to reopen the investigation if more information is uncovered.



http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/sports/BO73204/


Posted by: kwflatbed

Patriots Videographer Wants Immunity

Former Employee Negotiating With NFL


NEW YORK -- The lawyer for former New England Patriots employee Matt Walsh said his client is willing to turn over videotapes he made for the team if the NFL guarantees Walsh protection from lawsuits or other legal action.

Attorney Michael Levy said that to date, the NFL's initial proposals are not sufficient protection for Walsh, who is said to have taped the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough practice the day before they played the Patriots in the 2002 Super Bowl. The Patriots won 20-17.

"Under our proposal, Mr. Walsh is only protected if he in good faith is truthful. And he will be," Levy told The Associated Press on Friday in a telephone interview from his office at the Washington law firm of McKee Nelson.
"The NFL's proposal is not full indemnification. It is highly conditional and still leaves Mr. Walsh vulnerable. I have asked the NFL to provide Mr. Walsh with the necessary legal protections so that he can come forward with the truth without fear of retaliation and litigation. To best serve the interest of the public and everyone involved, I am hopeful that the NFL will do so promptly."

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said he's offered Walsh a deal whereby "he has to tell the truth and he has to return anything he took improperly" in return for indemnity.

"No one wants to talk to Matt Walsh more than we do," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Friday.

"But his demand to be released from all responsibility even if his comments are not truthful is unprecedented and unreasonable. The NFL and the Patriots have assured Mr. Walsh's lawyer that there will be no adverse consequences for his client if Mr. Walsh truthfully shares what he knows. Why does he need any more protection than that?"

Walsh, now a golf pro in Maui, did video work for the Patriots when they won the first of their three Super Bowl after the 2001 season.

Goodell said Walsh was not interviewed as part of the NFL's investigation into "Spygate," which involved the NFL confiscating tapes from a Patriots employee who recorded the New York Jets' defensive signals from the sideline during the opening game of the 2007 season.

As a result of that investigation, New England coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team was fined $250,000 and forfeited its 2008 first-round draft choice.

Six confiscated tapes and other documents pertaining to the Patriots' taping were subsequently destroyed by the league. Goodell has defended the destruction of the tapes.

Levy, who is continuing to negotiate with the NFL on Walsh's behalf, also objected to NFL security's investigation of his client.

"Sending a former FBI agent to investigate his professional and personal life has not left Mr. Walsh feeling confident that the National Football League simply wants to encourage him to come forward with whatever information he has," Levy said.

Goodell met this week with Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter and disclosed for the first time that the taping may have gone back to 2000, when Belichick first became coach of the Patriots. The commissioner said Belichick told him in their meeting last September that he believed the taping was legal. "We agreed to disagree," the commissioner said.

Specter, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary committee, said after the meeting that he would continue to investigate the taping episodes. He has said he also would like to speak with Walsh.

Goodell said he could reopen the investigation.

"If there is new information that is credible, new material that could be credible that would help us, yes, we'll look at it," he said.

But Eric Holder, a partner in Covington & Burling, the NFL's outside law firm, suggested the NFL might remain reluctant to meet Walsh's current terms.

"No responsible investigator would offer blanket immunity to a potential witness without a commitment that the witness will be truthful," Holder said. "Any witness who refuses to make that commitment doesn't deserve immunity."



Previous Stories: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/spor...58/detail.html


Posted by: kwflatbed

NFL and Matt Walsh Closer To Deal On Spygate

By Dave Goldberg, AP Football Writer

NEW YORK (AP) ― Matt Walsh, the former New England Patriots employee said to have tapes of illegal spying by the team, is close to an agreement to turn over information to the NFL.

The NFL said in a statement Sunday night that in the last week, lawyers for Walsh and the league have made "substantial progress toward an agreement that will allow Mr. Walsh to be interviewed."

"Both sides are optimistic that any remaining issues can be addressed successfully and they are committed to reaching a full agreement as promptly as possible," the statement added.

Walsh, a golf pro in Hawaii, has been seeking protection from lawsuits and other legal action, whether by the Patriots or other parties. The two sides have been negotiating for almost a month after reports surfaced just before the Super Bowl that Walsh videotaped a walkthrough practice of the St. Louis Rams before the 2002 title game. It was won by the Patriots 20-17 over the Rams, who were favored by more than two touchdowns.

Walsh's lawyer, Michael N. Levy of the Washington firm of McKee Nelson, confirmed Sunday night that an agreement was near.

"I have consistently asked the NFL to provide appropriate legal protections for Mr. Walsh," Levy said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

"In recent discussions I have had with the league's lawyer, we have made substantial progress toward this end, and I am hopeful that we will be able to craft an agreement with the necessary legal protections so Mr. Walsh can come forward with the truth."

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said Walsh was not interviewed as part of the league's investigation into "Spygate," which involved the league confiscating tapes from a Patriots employee who recorded the New York Jets' defensive signals from the sideline during the opening game of the 2007 season.

Six confiscated tapes and other documents pertaining to the Patriots' taping were subsequently destroyed by the league. Goodell has defended the destruction of the tapes.

As a result of that investigation, New England coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team was fined $250,000 and forfeited its 2008 first-round draft choice. That pick would have been 31st overall, but New England still has the seventh overall pick, obtained in a trade with San Francisco last year.

Goodell has also met with Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who asked pointed questions about taping of both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles. The Patriots beat the Eagles in the 2005 Super Bowl and the Steelers in two AFC championship games.

"As commissioner Goodell has repeatedly emphasized, `Nobody wants to hear from Matt Walsh more than the National Football League,' NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Sunday night.

In addition to the negotiations over Walsh's testimony, Willie Gary, who played in that game for the Rams, filed suit in New Orleans last month accusing the Patriots of fraud, unfair trade practices and engaging in a "pattern of racketeering." Three fans joined in the suit.

Specter subsequently said that his interest might be covered by that suit.

"I think now that the lawsuits have been started, that I got the ball rolling, and the plaintiffs' lawyers are picking it up," he said.

http://wbztv.com/sports/patriots/mat....2.673600.html


Posted by: TopCop24

Seriously does Arlen Spector have nothing better to do??


Posted by: kwflatbed

Quote:
Originally Posted by TopCop24 View Post
Seriously does Arlen Spector have nothing better to do??
He is a senator that should answer your question


Posted by: dgove35

doesnt the government have something better to do with their time rather than investigating a freaking game...... maybe the war, this god awful economy


Posted by: kwflatbed

Belichick Reinterviewed By NFL About Spygate

By Dave Goldberg, AP Football Writer

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) ― Bill Belichick insists there are no new revelations to come about Spygate.

"I think they've addressed everything they possibly can address," the New England Patriots coach said Tuesday.

Belichick, speaking during the AFC coaches breakfast at the NFL meetings, said he was interviewed again after the Super Bowl about allegations that former team employee Matt Walsh had illegal tapes.

Those tapes presumably included a walkthrough by the St. Louis Rams on the day before the 2002 Super Bowl, a game the Patriots won.

"I've addressed so many questions so many times from so many people I don't know what else the league could ask," Belichick said.

Commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed that the NFL spoke again with Belichick and other Patriots employees after last January's Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants. The league has been negotiating an agreement with Walsh that it hopes will get Walsh, a golf pro in Hawaii, to come forward with what he has.

"We followed up on other things because certain things had been tossed out," Goodell said of the added round of interviews with Belichick and other members of the Patriots front office.

This was the first time anyone disclosed that Belichick and other Patriots staffers were reinterviewed after the Super Bowl, when the Walsh allegations surfaced. The first interviews actually came the day before the Super Bowl with player personnel director Scott Pioli; Stacey James, the team's vice president for media relations; and video director Jimmy Dee.

League officials subsequently interviewed owner Robert Kraft and Belichick, as he disclosed on Tuesday. "I talked to four or five people," Belichick said, although he did not say if it was in person or by telephone.

Spygate developed after the first game of the season, when tapes of the New York Jets' defensive signals were confiscated from a Patriots employee on the sideline. Belichick was fined $500,000, the team was fined $250,000 and was stripped of its first-round draft choice.

The Patriots ended up becoming the first team to finish the regular season 16-0. They won two playoff games, but were upset 17-14 in the Super Bowl by the Giants.

The Walsh allegations came out two days before that title game, although Belichick said they weren't a distraction in the game. And he vehemently denied the Patriots taped a Rams walkthrough before that 2002 Super Bowl, which the two-touchdown underdog Patriots won 20-17.

"I've never seen a tape of another team's practice. Ever!" he said Tuesday. "Certainly not that one."

But Spygate hasn't gone away.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., got himself involved, met with Goodell, and suggested the Patriots might have taped the Philadelphia Eagles before the 2005 Super Bowl. New England won that game 24-21.

Specter also questioned why the tapes confiscated from the Jets game were destroyed after the Patriots were penalized. The league said there was no reason to keep them.

In addition, Walsh, through his lawyer, Michael Levy, has been negotiating with the NFL for legal protection if he comes forward to tell what he knows. Levy and the league reported three weeks ago that they were close to an agreement to do that, but talks have been sporadic since.

Belichick insisted Tuesday that nothing will be disclosed on any new tapes. "I barely knew Matt Walsh," he said. "He was hired before I became the coach."

He conceded he should have contacted Ray Anderson, the NFL's vice president for football operations, after a memo from Anderson in 2006 that laid down the specifications for intelligence gathering.

"What I should have done ... I should have called the league and asked for a clarification," he said. "That was my mistake."

He said that in one respect, Spygate did the Patriots a favor.

"We've taken it as a positive and reorganized our operations to make sure a situation like this never comes up again," he said. "Our operation is more efficient, more streamlined. Look at the results of this season. That would confirm it."

http://wbztv.com/local/spygate.bill.....2.689388.html


Posted by: kwflatbed

NFL Commissioner Getting Impatient With Matt Walsh

By Dave Goldberg, AP Football Writer

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) ― Roger Goodell is getting impatient with the stalemate between the NFL and Matt Walsh, the former New England Patriots employee who implies he has tapes he made of opposing teams that the league has yet to see.

"If it's just taping team's signals, we know about that," the NFL commissioner said Wednesday as he wrapped up the league meetings. "At some point I will run out of patience."

Lawyers for the league and the Patriots have been negotiating with Walsh's attorney to get him to tell them what he knows. Walsh, now a golf pro in Hawaii, is seeking protection from any action the league or the Patriots might take once he reveals his information about the team's taping of opponents.

Walsh's name first surfaced two days before the Patriots lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. He suggested he had tapes in addition to the ones confiscated from a New England employee during the opening game of the season against the New York Jets. New England coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 by Goodell, the team was fined $250,000, and the Patriots forfeited their first-round choice in this month's draft after the tapes of the Jets' defensive signals were determined to be against NFL rules.

The league subsequently destroyed the tapes.

It wasn't until after the Super Bowl, when Goodell met with Sen. Arlen Specter, R.-Pa., to discuss the matter, that the league acknowledged the tapes went back to 2000, when Walsh still worked for the Patriots.

League officials acknowledged they erred in not disclosing that Belichick admitted taping opponents since he became New England's coach in 2000.

The main question is whether there are tapes of the St. Louis Rams' final walkthrough practice before the 2002 Super Bowl, as has been suggested in published reports. The Patriots, underdogs by two touchdowns, beat the Rams 20-17 in that game.

Jeff Pash, the NFL's chief lawyer, said after Goodell's statement that the league is continuing to negotiate with Michael Levy, Walsh's lawyer.

"We're having a good dialogue," Pash said. "We're making progress. He (Walsh) feels he's in uncharted waters and wants to feel comfortable when he comes forward."

http://wbztv.com/local/spygate.matt.walsh.2.690371.html


Posted by: CJIS

This brings my piss to a boil.

We got a national dept of $9+ Trillion dollars, We have Illegal Immigrants flocking to this country daily leeching off the system, We have Big Business outsourcing everything to China, We have Billions of angry foreign nationalist that hate our country, and on a state/local level we have More Expensive flagman taking jobs away from hard working cops.

But nope Congress thinks a NFL "Spy-gate" and MLB "Steroids Abuse Problem" has to be investigated.

Well I got a message to the Congressmen: "Get your faces out of your asses, Let the NFL and MLB do their thing. You were elected to fix the real problems in this country! You were not elected to fix problems in Football and Baseball."


Posted by: kwflatbed

Walsh to meet with NFL about Spygate





NEW YORK -- Former Patriots assistant Matt Walsh will meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on May 13 about New England's videotaping of opposing teams.
The league reached an agreement with Walsh on Wednesday. The NFL had been negotiating for two months with Walsh, now an assistant golf pro in Hawaii, who has indicated he has further information regarding Spygate.
Goodell fined Patriots coach Bill Belichick $500,000, the team was fined $250,000 and was stripped of its first-round draft choice for taking video of New York Jets coaches on the sideline of the 2007 season opener. But the specter of what information Walsh might have has hung over the matter since the Super Bowl, when Walsh reportedly said he had other tapes.
The agreement with Walsh will allow him to "share with the NFL information about activities occurring during his employment with the club from 1997-2003," the league said in a statement.
Walsh also will be required to return any tapes and other items in his possession that belong to the Patriots.
"Today, Mr. Walsh and the National Football League reached an agreement under which the NFL will provide legal indemnification and a release of claims against Mr. Walsh relating to his employment by the Patriots and the Patriots' videotaping operations," said Walsh's lawyer, Michael Levy of McKee Nelson LLP. "I am pleased that we now have an agreement that provides Mr. Walsh with appropriate legal protections. Mr. Walsh is looking forward to providing the NFL with the materials he has and telling the NFL what he knows."
The Patriots said they expected the Goodell-Walsh meeting to end the Spygate investigations.
"The New England Patriots are pleased to learn that Matt Walsh is finally willing to come forward to meet with the NFL," the team said in a statement. "We are eagerly anticipating his honest disclosures to commissioner Goodell next month and the return of all the materials he took during his time of employment.
"We fully expect this meeting to conclude the league's investigation into a damaging and false allegation that was originally levied against the team on the day before this year's Super Bowl."
Walsh will be required to provide any documents he may have, including videotapes, relating to Spygate. He also will not be allowed to speak with any third parties before meeting with Goodell.
Last September, Belichick acknowledged using such videotapes on a regular basis, calling it a misinterpretation of the rule. Goodell issued his fines, then destroyed the tapes from the Patriots-Jets game, the first win in New England's unbeaten regular season, along with other materials submitted by the team. At the time, Goodell said he took the Patriots' word that those were the only tapes.
During Super Bowl week, however, there were reports of possible earlier videotaping by the Patriots, including the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough before the 2002 Super Bowl. Belichick vehemently denied the existence of any such tapes.
"I've never seen a tape of another team's practice. Ever!" Belichick said at last month's NFL owners meetings. "Certainly not that one.
"I think they've addressed everything they possibly can address. I've addressed so many questions so many times from so many people I don't know what else the league could ask."
He might find out once Walsh and Goodell meet.


http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/sports/BO77116/


Posted by: dave7336

first he brings it up at Super Bowl week and now a couple of days before the draft he makes the deal? .....seems like he is timing it pretty good to try and make the Patriots look bad...


Posted by: kwflatbed

No Super Bowl Video In Walsh's Tapes

NEW YORK (AP) ― Former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh sent the NFL eight videotapes that show New England violated league rules by recording opposing coaches' playcalling signals.

The tapes include signals by coaches of five opponents in six games from 2000-02, but don't include video from the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough before the 2002 Super Bowl.

The NFL said it received a letter from Michael Levy, the lawyer for Walsh, detailing the tapes that were scheduled to arrive Thursday at the league's New York offices.

The tapes sent to the NFL show the Patriots recorded signals in regular-season games against Miami, Buffalo, Cleveland and San Diego, and against Pittsburgh in the 2002 AFC championship game.

"This is consistent with what the Patriots had admitted they had been doing, consistent with what we already knew," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told The Associated Press.

The New York Times first reported the story on its Web site Wednesday night.

Walsh, who worked for New England from 1997 to 2003, agreed to turn over the tapes and other evidence by Thursday. He's scheduled to meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell next Tuesday about New England's taping of opposing teams.

"We're not going to comment," said Stacey James, the Patriots' vice president for media relations. He added he expected the team will wait to issue a statement until after Walsh meets with Goodell.

Walsh's name first surfaced just before this year's Super Bowl, nearly five months after the Patriots were sanctioned for illegally taping the New York Jets in the season opener -- a $500,000 fine for coach Bill Belichick, a $250,000 fine for the organization, and the loss of a first-round draft pick.

At that time, the Boston Herald also reported an unnamed Patriots employee illegally taped the Rams' final walkthrough before the 2002 title game, when New England, a two-touchdown underdog, upset St. Louis 20-17.

Goodell previously has said he was fully prepared to crack down again on the Patriots if his meeting with Walsh uncovered a tape made of the Rams' walkthrough practice.

"Mr. Walsh has never claimed to have a tape of the walkthrough," Levy told The New York Times. "Mr. Walsh has never been the source of any of the media speculation about such a tape. Mr. Walsh was not the source for the Feb. 2 Boston Herald article."

After more than two months of negotiations, lawyers for the league and Walsh finally reached an agreement on April 23 on terms that will allow him to talk with Goodell. They include an agreement by the Patriots not to sue Walsh and to pay his legal expenses and his airfare to New York from Hawaii, where he is now a golf pro.

http://wbztv.com/sports/patriots/mat....2.718561.html


Posted by: kwflatbed

Columnist Says Suspend Belichick For A Year

BOSTON (WBZ) ― A New York Times columnist thinks the NFL should suspend New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick for one year for Spygate.

In a Friday column with the headline, "A Decade of Sins Deserves a Year Out" Harvey Araton claims that the punishment of a $750,000 fine and loss of a 2008 first round draft pick was clearly not enough.

Now that former Pats video assistant Matt Walsh has turned over his tapes and the details have been public, showing that Belichick has been taping coaches since 2000, Araton says NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell needs to do more.

He writes:

"Now that the "totality of conduct" for which Belichick was cited by Goodell has officially expanded to the length of his tenure in New England, shouldn't he be further punished as a serial offender, a con man who not only broke the rules but established secretly taping opponents as standard operating procedure?"

The tapes sent to the NFL show the Patriots recorded signals in regular-season games against Miami, Buffalo, Cleveland and San Diego from 2000-02, and against Pittsburgh in the 2002 AFC championship game.

"This is consistent with what the Patriots had admitted they had been doing, consistent with what we already knew," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said earlier this week.

Goodell reportedly sent out a league memo to teams in 2006 reinforcing the rule against this specific kind of videotaping.

Araton says that should have been enough to stop Belichick. He writes:

"To which Belichick at the very least responded by videotaping the Jets in the 2007 season opener that touched off the so-called Spygate affair, now encapsulated in its own online entry of the same name on Wikipedia.org."

"In other words: embarrassment to the league in perpetuity, courtesy of its team of the decade and reigning coaching genius."

Belichick has always maintained he misinterpreted that rule.

Walsh will meet with Goodell next week.

The Patriots have had no comment.

WBZ's Jon Keller has something to say about the column. Read his blog here.

http://wbztv.com/sports/patriots/mat....2.720307.html


Posted by: kwflatbed

NFL Says 'Spygate' Is Over

No New Rules Violations Disclosed


NEW YORK -- Former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh disclosed no new rules violations in the Spygate scandal during his meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell or in the tapes that the league released Tuesday.

The clips, shown after Walsh's nearly 3˝-hour meeting with Goodell, cut between shots of opposing coaches sending in signals and the play that followed.

"The fundamental information that Matt provided was consistent with what we disciplined the Patriots for last fall," said Goodell, who didn't anticipate punishing the team any further.
The most scandalous part of the tapes shown before Goodell's news conference had nothing to do with stealing signals -- it was several minutes of close-ups of San Diego Chargers cheerleaders performing during a 2002 game.

Walsh did not comment after leaving the NFL offices and left through a different exit to avoid the media following his afternoon meeting with Sen. Arlen Specter in Washington. Specter, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has been critical of the NFL's handling of the investigation.

Specter postponed his news conference to Wednesday when his meeting with Walsh ran long.

The Spygate investigation began after the NFL confiscated tapes from a Patriots employee who recorded the New York Jets' defensive signals from the sideline during the 2007 opener. New England coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000, while the team was fined $250,000 and forced to forfeit its 2008 first-round draft choice.

Asked if he considered the matter closed, Goodell said, "As I stand before you today, and having met with Matt Walsh and more than 50 other people, I don't know where else I would turn."

Walsh had no knowledge of anybody with the Patriots taping the Rams' final walkthrough leading up to the 2002 Super Bowl, Goodell said. The Boston Herald reported in February that an unidentified employee illegally recorded the walkthrough before New England, a two-touchdown underdog, upset St. Louis 20-17.

"For the past three-and-a-half months, we have been defending ourselves against assumptions made based on an unsubstantiated report rather than on facts or evidence," the Patriots said in a statement.

They added: "We hope that with Matt Walsh's disclosures, everyone will finally believe what we have been saying all along and emphatically stated on the day of the initial report: 'The suggestion that the New England Patriots recorded the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 is absolutely false. Any suggestion to the contrary is untrue."'

But a new revelation emerged related to that walkthrough: Walsh said a Patriots assistant coach asked him what he saw.

Walsh was in the stadium in his Patriots gear setting up equipment during the walkthrough, Goodell said. NFL officials noted that it's common for personnel not connected to the team to be present on that day.

Walsh told Goodell that then-New England assistant Brian Daboll approached him later, said NFL attorney Gregg Levy, who attended the meeting. Walsh said he told the coach that running back Marshall Faulk was returning kicks and described the Rams' use of tight ends in their formations. Daboll did not mention the conversation when he was interviewed by NFL officials about the walkthrough, Levy said.

Rams spokesman Rick Smith declined comment.

Goodell made no mention of the incident during his news conference. He realized the oversight later, Levy said, and asked Levy to share the information with reporters.

The NFL is looking into the allegation, Levy said.

Goodell said Walsh had no information about any other spying by the Patriots.

"There was no bugging of locker rooms," Goodell said. "There was no manipulation of communication systems. There was no crowd noise violations anywhere that he was aware of. No miking of players to pick up opposing signals or audibles."

Walsh did share two potential violations of league rules unrelated to Spygate, Goodell said. A player on injured reserve practiced when he wasn't allowed to in 2001. Walsh also scalped eight to 12 Super Bowl tickets for Patriots players over two seasons. The NFL will investigate both claims.

Last week, Walsh sent the NFL eight videotapes of the Patriots recording playcalling signals. The tapes included signals by coaches of five opponents in six games from 2000-02. The tape of the Chargers cheerleaders was not made by Walsh, NFL officials said.

Walsh worked for New England from 1997 to 2003. His name surfaced just before this year's Super Bowl, nearly five months after the Patriots were sanctioned.

After more than two months of negotiations, lawyers for the league and Walsh finally agreed April 23 to terms that would allow him to talk with Goodell. They included an agreement by the Patriots not to sue Walsh and to pay his legal expenses and his airfare to New York from Hawaii, where he is now a golf pro.

Specter, from Pennsylvania, met with Goodell in February after raising the possibility of congressional hearings if he wasn't satisfied with the commissioner's answers about the handling of the investigation. Specter had criticized the NFL's decision to destroy the tapes it initially confiscated.

Why did Goodell show Walsh's tapes Tuesday but not do the same with the others last fall? He said releasing them during the season could have put some teams at a competitive advantage or disadvantage.

Walsh stood stone-faced as his lawyer, Michael Levy, addressed a throng of about 50 media members outside the NFL offices after their meeting with Goodell.

"Out of respect for Sen. Specter, neither Mr. Walsh nor I will speak with the media prior to meeting with the Senator," Levy said.

They then climbed into a car to begin their trip to Washington.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/spor...41/detail.html


Posted by: kwflatbed

N.E. Patriots

We own up to error on walkthrough story


The Boston Herald regrets the damage done to the team by publication of the allegation, and sincerely apologizes to its readers and to the New England Patriots’ owners, players, employees and fans for our error.

  1. 57 Comments



Posted by: kwflatbed

This A-Hole just won't Give Up

Specter Wants Independent Spygate Investigation


(file image)


WASHINGTON (AP) ― Sen. Arlen Specter wants an independent investigation of the Patriots' taping of opposing coaches' signals similar to the Mitchell Report on performance enhancing drugs in baseball.

Specter again criticized the league's handling of the investigation and threatened the possibility of revoking the NFL's antitrust exemption during a news conference Wednesday. The senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee met with former New England video assistant Matt Walsh a day earlier.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell indicated he considered the investigation over after meeting with Walsh on Tuesday.

"Everybody pooh-poohs it," Specter said. "It's ridiculous to make that kind of contention."

Specter, from Pennsylvania, cited the fact a Patriots attorney sat in on Walsh's meeting with Goodell as proof the investigation has not been impartial.

He repeated his disapproval of Goodell's decision to destroy the notes and tapes confiscated during the initial investigation last fall.

"That sequence is incomprehensible," Specter said. "It's an insult to the intelligence of the people who follow it."

If the NFL condones cheating, Specter said, it encourages others to cheat.

"They owe the public a lot more candor and a lot more credibility," he said.

http://wbztv.com/sports/patriots/spy....2.723896.html


Posted by: kwflatbed

Kraft Pleased With Herald's Apology

Pats Owner Compliments Newspaper


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft complimented the Boston Herald on Wednesday for apologizing for a story that said his team videotaped a St. Louis Rams walkthrough before the 2002 Super Bowl.

He's "very disappointed," though, that the newspaper "wrote a story that was completely false and unsubstantiated," Kraft said in an interview with The Associated Press.

He also said he doesn't know why former New England video assistant Matt Walsh didn't refute the story soon after it came out on Feb. 2, the day before the Patriots lost the Super Bowl to the New York Giants, 17-14, ruining their quest for an unbeaten season.
"I must compliment the Boston Herald for doing what is unprecedented in terms of recognizing their error in a major way," Kraft said. "I'm really delighted with that, but I wish it never happened."

The apology came a day after a meeting between NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Walsh produced no major revelations about the team's taping procedures.

"I think I speak for all Patriot fans," Kraft said. "We're relieved that this is over and you see that this is nonsense and we were unfairly accused and we're moving on."

Kraft spoke by telephone before Sen. Arlen Specter said in Washington that he wants an independent investigation of the Patriots' taping of opposing coaches' signals similar to the Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball.

Patriots spokesman Stacey James said the team had no immediate comment on Specter's remarks.

Walsh told Goodell he did not tape the walkthrough and had no knowledge that any other Patriots employees did so, Goodell said. The commissioner also indicated he considered the investigation over after meeting with Walsh on Tuesday.

Goodell fined coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000 and took away a first-round draft pick this year after an investigation found the Patriots violated league rules by taping New York Jets coaches on the sideline during the season opener.

Kraft said he didn't think the investigation that began then would leave a lasting stain on the club.

"I was unhappy with what transpired in the fall, the actions of some of our employees, and we were penalized severely for that," he said. "We said back in September that we had disclosed all of our actions as an organization to the league. You can see this is true.'

"The erroneous story really led to a second round of inquisitions after September, and it really was a distraction. The sad part (is) that it took away from an 18-0 Super Bowl season."

The Herald's story cited unidentified sources and was released Feb. 2.

In the apology, published in the newspaper's Wednesday edition and posted on its Web site, the Herald said the story was based on sources "it believed to be credible."

"We now know that this report was false, and that no tape of the walkthrough ever existed," the paper wrote.

"We should not have published the allegation in the absence of firmer verification. The Boston Herald regrets the damage done to the team by publication of the allegation, and sincerely apologizes to its readers and to the New England Patriots' owners, players, employees and fans for our error."

The newspaper featured a front-page headline reading: "Sorry, Pats." It placed the three-paragraph apology on the back inside page of the newspaper.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news...16/detail.html


Posted by: CJIS

Senator To Blow YOUR Tax Dollars On Football Investigation

richardovervold.blogspot.com — With all the problems in the world, it seems it all pales in comparison to one of the men it should matter to, Senator Arlen Spector, who deems is necessary to use our tax dollars to conduct a further investigation of the New England Patriots Spygate scandal. Is he serious?!


Posted by: Grasshopper

Quote:
Originally Posted by CJIS View Post
Senator To Blow YOUR Tax Dollars On Football Investigation

richardovervold.blogspot.com — With all the problems in the world, it seems it all pales in comparison to one of the men it should matter to, Senator Arlen Spector, who deems is necessary to use our tax dollars to conduct a further investigation of the New England Patriots Spygate scandal. Is he serious?!
+1

It's a game! If there is anything one should be outraged about concerning professional athletics, it would be the marketing budgets/player salaries that subsequently cause the everyday products we buy to be so costly (that and the outrageous price of tickets that mainly only corporations can afford).


Posted by: kwflatbed

Report: Specter Done With Spygate

BOSTON (WBZ) ― Sen. Arlen Specter told the Philadelphia Daily News he's done with Spygate.

Specter told the paper's editorial board Monday that "I've gone as far as I can," looking into allegations that the New England Patriots taped other teams' defensive signals.

Specter, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, wanted an independent investigation of the Patriots similar to the Mitchell Report on performance enhancing drugs in baseball.

He told the paper the Judiciary Committee already has "too much to do."

Specter has been critical of the NFL's handling of the investigation and had threatened the possibility of revoking the league's antitrust exemption last month.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he considered the investigation over after meeting with former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh in May.

http://wbztv.com/sports/patriots/spy....2.750148.html




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