Now we know the truth...

[simeon]

The facts remain the Patriots cheated and they knew they were cheating, in that time they went to four superbowls, they won three of them all games were decided by 3 points or less. There is no way no how Goddell dealt with this properly, to me it appears he barely slapped them on wrist. Why wasn't Bellicheat suspended ? Why weren't players suspended, let see if you break the rules and take steroids to gain an upper hand you are suspended, but if you steal signals for YEARS to gain an upper hand you get a slap on the wrist and then all the evidence is destroyed, give me a break. We need to know the whole truth, and the Patriot organization needs to be punished.

[Brian Fein]

Somehow the commissioner's office thinks that a first round pick, #31 overall, is a good punishment.  Not when they have pick #7, dumbass.

[simeon]

Apparently it is reported that witnesses are willing to come forward to testify Walsh is lieing and covering up the walk through, which is why Spector wants a deeper probe.



WASHINGTON (AP)—Hold on, NFL. Spygate isn’t over. Not if an “incensed” senator from Pennsylvania has anything to do with it.

Sen. Arlen Specter on Wednesday called for an independent investigation of the New England Patriots’ taping of opposing coaches’ signals, possibly similar to the high-profile Mitchell Report on performance enhancing drugs in baseball.

“What is necessary is an objective investigation,” Specter said at a news conference in the Capitol. “And this one has not been objective.”

The Pennsylvania Republican was unforgiving of his criticism of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, saying that Goodell has made “ridiculous” assertions that wouldn’t fly “in kindergarten.” The Senator said Goodell was caught in an “apparent conflict of interest” because the NFL doesn’t want the public to lose confidence in the league’s integrity.

“They are enormous role models for everybody,” Specter said. “If you can cheat in the NFL, you can cheat in college, you can cheat in high school, you can cheat on your grade-school math test. There’s no limit as to what you can do. I think they owe the public a lot more candor and a lot more credibility.”

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Goodell essentially declared an end to Spygate after a 3 1/2 -hour meeting in New York on Tuesday morning with former New England video assistant Matt Walsh. Walsh supplied the league with videotapes of coaches’ signals made by the Patriots, but offered no new significant revelations about the cheating scandal that has threatened to taint the team’s three Super Bowl titles.

Goodell said afterward that the information from the interview with Walsh “was consistent with what we disciplined the Patriots for last fall,” when the commissioner docked the team a 2008 first-round draft pick and fined coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000.

But Specter held his own three-hour meeting with Walsh in Washington on Tuesday. He said Walsh detailed how the Patriots used videotaped signals to their advantage: an offensive player would memorize the signals, watch for them on the sideline and pass them on to assistant coach Charlie Weis, who would then inform quarterback Tom Brady.

“And they had some obviously good results,” Specter said.

The NFL released a statement later Wednesday.

“We respectfully disagree with Senator Specter’s characterization of the investigation conducted by our office. We are following up after yesterday’s meeting with Matt Walsh.”

Specter said he would prefer the NFL arrange the independent investigation and was willing to wait several months—while he continues to undergo chemotherapy treatments for Hodgkin’s disease—before calling for Congress to take what he called “corrective action.” Such action could include hearings or a full-blown Mitchell Report-type investigation. He said public reaction would determine the NFL’s next step.

“I would hope that the commissioner would do this on his own,” Specter said.

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

Earlier Wednesday, the Boston Herald apologized for a story that said the Patriots videotaped a St. Louis Rams walkthrough before the 2002 Super Bowl.

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.

 
The Boston Herald apologized t…

AP - May 14, 3:22 pm EDT
 â€œWe 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.”

Specter repeated his disapproval of Goodell’s decision to destroy the notes and tapes confiscated during the initial investigation last fall, as well as the “piecemeal” way the league has revealed details about the tapings. He also cited the fact a Patriots attorney sat in on Walsh’s meeting with Goodell as proof the investigation has not been impartial.

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

Specter’s interest in Spygate centers in part on the two NFL teams in his state. The Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Patriots in the Super Bowl in 2005, the same season in which the Steelers were defeated by New England in the AFC championship game.

Pittsburgh defeated New England earlier that season, and the implication is that taped signals from that game helped the Patriots in the rematch. Steelers chairman Dan Rooney has called the matter a “non-issue.”

 
In this Jan. 15, 2008 file pho…

AP - May 14, 2:36 pm EDT
 â€œI have a different perspective,” Specter said. “I’m elected by 12 million people, and a lot of them are Steeler fans. … Frankly I’m incensed about what happened with the Steelers, and I’m incensed about the notes being destroyed. I really am.”

Specter was again asked whether his interest in the matter has to do with Philadelphia-based Comcast, one of his largest campaign contributors. Comcast has been involved in a dispute with the league over the placement of the NFL Network on its cable system.

“They have been a campaign contributor,” Specter said, “along with 50,000 other people … I’ve been at this line of work for a long time, and no one has ever questioned my integrity.”

In an interview with HBO scheduled to air Friday night on “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel,” Walsh dismissed Belichick’s attempts to minimize the impact of the taping.

“If it was of little or no importance, I imagine they wouldn’t have continued to do it, and probably not taken the chances of going down onto the field in Pittsburgh or shooting from other teams’ stadiums the way we did,” Walsh said.

 
Senator Arlen Specter speaks d…

AP - May 14, 2:12 pm EDT
 Walsh told HBO that his superiors coached him on how to evade NFL rules limiting the number of camera operators per team to two, and that team officials instructed him on ways to avoid detection.

Walsh also talked about Belichick’s claim that he misinterpreted NFL rules.

“When I was doing it, I understood what we were doing to be wrong,” Walsh said. “We went to great lengths to keep from being caught. Just saying that the rules were misinterpreted isn’t enough of an apology or a reasoning for what was done. …

“Coach Belichick’s explanation for having misinterpreted the rules, to me, that really didn’t sound like taking responsibility for what we had done, especially considering the great lengths that we had gone through to hide what we were doing.”

AP Sports Writers Rachel Cohen in New York and Howard Ulman in Foxborough, Mass., contributed to this report.

[MaineDolFan]

^^Not to say 'I told you so' but...

Well...I told you so!

[BJL]

There is talk now that there was at least one other team doing the same thing the Patriots were (saw it on ESPN). And you know what? I could care less. Football isn't clean of cheating. There has been steroids, breaking rules of the salary cap, breaking the rules of free agency, and now video taping. The punishment has been given out, let's end this long drawn out session of "Mr. X's 5 minutes of fame."

[simeon]

BS- the patricheats disgraced the NFL and tainted the game, you can't just stuff it under the carpet and hope nobody notices. If Goddell would have done his job properly and really cracked down on Bellicheat and company we wouldn't get going through this now. An investigation must be done and those who participated in the cover up need to be punished including being fire as NFL commissioner.

[BJL]

Please... "tainted the game"... teams have disregarded the salary cap to win Super Bowls, disregarded the rules of free agency, and given steroids to players. Teams have found ways to bend the rules year in, year out. Those infractions were plain ignored. This wasn't. And how do you know there is even a cover up? Most of this is guesses and conspiracy theories by fans. Where is the tape of the Rams walk through? Until that tape is produced, anything is just assumed or guessed. Like I said, if you investigate the Patriots, then this other team should get investigated as well. And even if you investigate the Patriots and other team, what more do you hope to obtain? This is overkill, plain and simple. If people are unhappy with the punishment, oh well. That's the NFL's fault.

[simeon]

Answer this question.
Why is it when Michael Vick got suspended from the NFL it is because he lied to Goddell about his involvement in dog fighting, now according to Walsh Belicheat lied to Goddell when he said he didn't think they were doing anything wrong.
I know killing dogs is wrong, but Belicheat lied too, why isn't he dealt with properly ?

[BJL]

Answer this question.
Why is it when Michael Vick got suspended from the NFL it is because he lied to Goddell about his involvement in dog fighting, now according to Walsh Belicheat lied to Goddell when he said he didn't think they were doing anything wrong.
I know killing dogs is wrong, but Belicheat lied too, why isn't he dealt with properly ?

Because Vick broke the law of the government, not the NFL. Also, it's Walsh's word against the Patriots organization on the coaching staff's feelings towards the video taping. The Vick incident was very simple. Vick said he wasn't involved, and actual evidence was brought up to prove he was. What evidence are you going to find about what "Belicheat" thought?The two incidents are not comparable.

[simeon]

Belicheat admitted they were video taping opponents, he then told Goddell he did not believe they were breaking any rules. Walsh stated Belicheat knew what they were doing is cheating, they went to great lengths to not be caught. How do we get proof, since Belicheat is so innocent I am sure he wouldn't eject to a lie detector test.
I think you need to do some research the reason why Vick was first suspended is because he lied to Goddell, and apparently so has Belicheat.

[YoFuggedaboutit]

Because Vick broke the law of the government, not the NFL. Also, it's Walsh's word against the Patriots organization on the coaching staff's feelings towards the video taping. The Vick incident was very simple. Vick said he wasn't involved, and actual evidence was brought up to prove he was. What evidence are you going to find about what "Belicheat" thought?The two incidents are not comparable.

Technically, Belicheat broke the law too.  In case you didn't know, one of former President Bill Clinton's last acts was the Federal Espionage Act.  This could very well fall under theft of trade secrets. 

Both investigations were not taken seriously.  A criminal investigation by the FBI could very well blow this thing sky high.  And if that is the case, Goodell should get in trouble too, because he destroyed evidence.

[dolfan13]

never thought i would say this, but i now despise the pats more than the jets... for me its always been #1 jets, #2 bills, and then #3 the pats. i've never had a whole lot of animosity towards them when they were winning so freaking much. just admired the franchise more than anything else. now in my book, that whole organization is the scum of the earth.

[BJL]

Belicheat admitted they were video taping opponents, he then told Goddell he did not believe they were breaking any rules. Walsh stated Belicheat knew what they were doing is cheating, they went to great lengths to not be caught. How do we get proof, since Belicheat is so innocent I am sure he wouldn't eject to a lie detector test.
I think you need to do some research the reason why Vick was first suspended is because he lied to Goddell, and apparently so has Belicheat.

Research what? Vick lied to Gooddell about not breaking the law of the government. Belichick supposedly lied about not thinking what he did was wrong. That's a huge difference right there. And like I said, Vick's case had hard evidence he lied, Belichick's case is word against word. And you need proof because there is this little thing of "innocent until proven guilty." There is nothing for me to research.

I doubt this is going to reach a criminal investigation by the FBI. If that was going to happen, it would have been started a while ago. If anything, Spector will be threatening the NFL with the anti-trust thing.

[Brian Fein]

Dude, Vick committed a felony.  I have never seen anyone get thrown in jail for videotaping a football practice.

[YoFuggedaboutit]

Dude, Vick committed a felony.  I have never seen anyone get thrown in jail for videotaping a football practice.

Theft of Trade Secrets.