NE Pats have been filmmakers since 2000.

[shadowgrin]

I hope Belichick burns in hell.

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.

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.

Goodell said Belichick told him he believed the taping was legal; Goodell said he did not concur.

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.

Goodell also told Specter that that he doesn't regret destroying the Spygate tapes or the notes.

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.

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.

[[Q]]

word. it makes a lot of sense though. what doesn't make sense is why Goodell destroyed the evidence. (maybe to save the Patriots & league from further embarrassment?)

[JT_55]

Let's hope all justice will be brought to the Patriots and sufficiently punished for everything they did. A few Super Bowl Trophies taken back won't hurt.

[J@3]

Is it really that big a deal?

[Sauru]

Let's hope all justice will be brought to the Patriots and sufficiently punished for everything they did. A few Super Bowl Trophies taken back won't hurt.

while they are at it they should take them all back, for every team to ever win one. then go to other sports, start taking thier championships away too. you think the pats are the only team to steal signals? people need to wake up.

[Indy]

Goodell didn't burn the tapes, there was Tom Brady showering footage on them and he just took them home for further... um... investigation.

[BostonBunk]

Howie Long didn't go too much into detail but said that there are other teams who does this too. I think if thats true then it would ruin football just like steroids does for baseball.

[Drex]

LOL, that's so awesome.

"Damn, we got caught...but they do it too!" *points at the rest of the NFL [/Pats]

[Sauru]

every team in every sport has stolen signals, anyone who says otherwise is a complete liar.

[Drex]

Nobody's saying they're not. I'm just saying that that logic is almost childish, instead of accepting the fact that they got caught they blame other teams, too.

[Andrew]

"Everybody else is doing it" isn't really a strong defense no matter you're talking about but if there are other teams doing the same thing, perhaps the NFL should investigate further rather than just punishing teams as they're caught as the Patriots were. Particularly since anyone else doing it will probably try to cover their tracks better now that someone has been caught and punished for it.

[Sauru]

Nobody's saying they're not. I'm just saying that that logic is almost childish, instead of accepting the fact that they got caught they blame other teams, too.

they paid the biggest fine in the nfl. even after all the shit they have put up with people are bringing it back up again. some jerk off wants to get his name in the papers so he is useing his position to witch hunt the pats, good for him. glad to see those tax dollars hard at work

[Drex]

"Everybody else is doing it" isn't really a strong defense no matter you're talking about but if there are other teams doing the same thing, perhaps the NFL should investigate further rather than just punishing teams as they're caught as the Patriots were. Particularly since anyone else doing it will probably try to cover their tracks better now that someone has been caught and punished for it.

That's not even a discussion, I guess we all think that way. But, there will be always some guy/team who'll find a way to cheat somehow.

they paid the biggest fine in the nfl. even after all the shit they have put up with people are bringing it back up again. some jerk off wants to get his name in the papers so he is useing his position to witch hunt the pats, good for him. glad to see those tax dollars hard at work

Well, they fucked up, they got caught. Nowadays, no matter how small something is, people will bring it up time and time again. And this isn't something small, even if they paid their fine.

[Andrew]

That's not even a discussion, I guess we all think that way. But, there will be always some guy/team who'll find a way to cheat somehow.

Definitely, as long as there's a system someone will be trying to cheat it. But if someone is caught out it would be prudent to investigate further so other people doing the same thing can be weeded out and punished accordingly.

Of course, it doesn't always work out that way. There's a lot of executives out there developing HR rules stating that low level managers can't employ family members while choosing not to follow their own rules and not bothering to investigate how many people are employing family members. Maybe the moral of the story, the way the world works sometimes, is simply not to get caught though that's a less than virtuous lesson.

[Sauru]

they paid the biggest fine in the nfl. even after all the shit they have put up with people are bringing it back up again. some jerk off wants to get his name in the papers so he is useing his position to witch hunt the pats, good for him. glad to see those tax dollars hard at work

Well, they fucked up, they got caught. Nowadays, no matter how small something is, people will bring it up time and time again. And this isn't something small, even if they paid their fine.

yeah they fucked up and they paid thier fine which was huge, losing that pick hurts really bad, but thats the point, they paid for thier crimes

[shadowgrin]

Sauru's right, their 18-1 season is already enough. If they did win the Superbowl no punishment is enough for them and not just any punishment, divine punishment!