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Dan Rooney: Time To Move On After 'Spygate' Tapes Shed No New Light
Roger Goodell, Matt Walsh Discuss Patriots' Taping Of Steelers
POSTED: 10:14 am EDT May 8,
2008
UPDATED: 5:15 pm EDT May 13,
2008
Former New England Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh had his long-anticipated meetings about the alleged "Spygate" case with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter on Tuesday -- but it turned out to be much ado about nothing.
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At the NFL's New York office, Walsh and Goodell discussed the videotapes of opposing coaches' play-calling signals in violation of league rules that Walsh had turned over. Goodell said he learned nothing new about the scandal after his three-hour meeting with Walsh."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," Goodell said, when asked if the investigation was over.The league said the tapes were consistent with what it already knew last September when it fined coach Bill Belichick $500,000, the Patriots $250,000 and stripped the team of its first-round draft choice."The fundamental information that Matt provided was consistent with what we disciplined the Patriots for last fall," Goodell said.The videos are said to include a recording of the Patriots' victory over the Steelers in the 2002 AFC championship game. They went on to defeat the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl."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."Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney said he was satisfied with how things went during Goodell's meeting with Walsh, adding that the team is ready to move on and focus on the upcoming season."The NFL did a thorough investigation that spanned several months. The commissioner did leave the door open to revisit this case and take appropriate action if new information is found," Rooney said in a statement. "Earlier this spring, the commissioner's office took steps to address team activity by instituting measures to identify and monitor team activities violating league rules. We believe those steps were appropriate and will be effective."Walsh declined to comment as he entered and left the NFL offices on Tuesday morning, on his way to Washington, D.C., for an afternoon meeting with Specter.In recent months, Specter, R-Pa., has been critical of how the NFL handled its investigation. He postponed a news conference late Tuesday afternoon because his meeting with Walsh ran long."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. "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.'"
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Vote: Additional Penalties For Pats?
Message Board: Share Your Comments
At the NFL's New York office, Walsh and Goodell discussed the videotapes of opposing coaches' play-calling signals in violation of league rules that Walsh had turned over. Goodell said he learned nothing new about the scandal after his three-hour meeting with Walsh."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," Goodell said, when asked if the investigation was over.The league said the tapes were consistent with what it already knew last September when it fined coach Bill Belichick $500,000, the Patriots $250,000 and stripped the team of its first-round draft choice."The fundamental information that Matt provided was consistent with what we disciplined the Patriots for last fall," Goodell said.The videos are said to include a recording of the Patriots' victory over the Steelers in the 2002 AFC championship game. They went on to defeat the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl."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."Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney said he was satisfied with how things went during Goodell's meeting with Walsh, adding that the team is ready to move on and focus on the upcoming season."The NFL did a thorough investigation that spanned several months. The commissioner did leave the door open to revisit this case and take appropriate action if new information is found," Rooney said in a statement. "Earlier this spring, the commissioner's office took steps to address team activity by instituting measures to identify and monitor team activities violating league rules. We believe those steps were appropriate and will be effective."Walsh declined to comment as he entered and left the NFL offices on Tuesday morning, on his way to Washington, D.C., for an afternoon meeting with Specter.In recent months, Specter, R-Pa., has been critical of how the NFL handled its investigation. He postponed a news conference late Tuesday afternoon because his meeting with Walsh ran long."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. "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.'"
Previous Stories:
- February 15, 2008: Steelers Brush Off Patriots' Videotaping In Title Games
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