League, M. Walsh Nearing Deal
Lawyers for the NFL and former New England Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh are close to completing an agreement that would provide legal protection for Walsh so that he could be interviewed by league officials about the videotaping scandal involving the Patriots.
Indications are that the deal could be completed as soon as today.
If it is, it's not immediately clear how soon Walsh would be interviewed by the NFL.
Walsh previously has hinted to media outlets that he has information relevant to the league's investigation of the scandal.
In September, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell punished the Patriots and their coach, Bill Belichick, for videotaping the play signals of the New York Jets coaches during the opening game of last season at Giants Stadium, in violation of league rules. Goodell fined Belichick $500,000 and the Patriots $250,000, and stripped a first-round draft choice from the team.
Just before last season's Super Bowl, the Boston Herald reported that the Patriots videotaped the St. Louis Rams' walk-through before the two teams played in the Super Bowl in 2002. Belichick has denied that. He said at the recent league meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., that he never has seen a tape of another team's practice.
League officials plan to ask Walsh about that report of taping the Rams' walk-through.
Goodell has said that he would impose further sanctions if new violations are uncovered.
Goodell recently imposed new rules league-wide regarding cheating in the aftermath of the "SpyGate" scandal.
His crackdown includes a program of unannounced inspections of teams' locker rooms, stadium press boxes and in-game communication equipment; a lowering of the standard necessary to impose discipline; and annual certifications by teams that they complied with all competitive rules and reported all known infractions.
The franchise owners unanimously approved a resolution at the league meeting supporting Goodell's measures, which didn't require the official ratification of the clubs.
The owners also approved a proposal at the league meeting to equip one defensive player per team with a wireless communication device in his helmet connecting him to a coach on the sideline during games. That reduces the need for teams to use the sort of hand signals for defensive plays that were videotaped by the Patriots. That proposal was approved by a vote of 25-7; it needed at least 24 votes to be enacted.
By Mark Maske |
April 23, 2008; 11:42 AM ET
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Posted by: ah | April 23, 2008 12:12 PM
Good points, although the public disclosure that the taping program went back to the beginning of Belichick's tenure with the Patriots didn't come until long after the penalties were announced. But you are correct in that if all Matt Walsh "has" is that the Patriots were taping years ago, that's nothing new and it will bring no further penalties by the league.
Posted by: Mark Maske | April 23, 2008 12:31 PM
Actually, the Pats penalty was based upon the tapes and admissions they made at the time. If Walsh has evidence that they did more taping than they admitted to, the league could find that the Pats misled the league office and would be well within their rights to add further penalties.
I think I can speak for most NFL fans when I say:
We have had enough of this. Penalize them/don't penalize them. We don't really care that much anymore, if we ever did. Just make it go away for good this time, please!
Posted by: BoltsFan | April 23, 2008 12:50 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Mark -- you need to be clear that the punishment was not just for taping the Jets but for the Patriots practice of taping defensive signals for 6+ years. That's important for a couple of reasons. First, that the violation of the rules went beyond that one game and second, more relevant to Matt Walsh, that other than the walkthrough tape he claims to have, his telling everyone that the Pats were taping defensive signals years ago is nothing new.