NFL Wants To Talk To Walsh As Specter, Goodell Plan To Meet
NFL Senior VP/PR Greg Aiello yesterday confirmed that NFL "security people want to speak to" former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh about Saturday's Boston Herald report that an employee of the Patriots videotaped the Rams walk-through prior to Super Bowl XXXVI in '02, according to Dodd & Wood of USA TODAY. The NFL in its September investigation of the Patriots' Spygate scandal "looked into and declared unfounded'' rumors of the '02 Super Bowl. Multiple media reports indicated that Walsh, who has not worked for the Patriots since '03 and lives in Hawaii, "has indicated he has pertinent evidence about the 2002 matter but hasn't been specific" (USA TODAY, 2/5).
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Specter Could Meet With NFL
Commissioner As Early As This Week |
GOODELL, SPECTER MEETING: U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), who has called for a possible congressional investigation into the NFL's decision to destroy the Patriots' Spygate videotapes, said yesterday about NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, "First thing this morning, I had my office call his office. I have some questions to ask him." An NFL spokesperson yesterday told ESPN that Goodell would meet with Specter "at the end of this week at the earliest, or possibly next week." The Patriots in '05 beat the Eagles in Super Bowl XLII, and Specter, an Eagles fan, said, "Do I think the Eagles were cheated out of the Super Bowl in 2005? I don't know, but I want to find out, and there are some people who know the answer." Specter, citing the Herald report about Super Bowl XXXVI, said, "According to [then Rams coach Mike Martz], the Patriots knew all their signals in the red zone." Specter also "wants to question" Walsh and indicated that the entire matter "could lead to congressional hearings" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 2/5). Specter said of a meeting with Goodell and his staff, "They've indicated they'll be available next week." Specter in a telephone interview last night "likened the potential damage from Spygate to the Black Sox scandal" of 1919. Specter, in regards to the NFL's September investigation, asked, "Did they talk to Matt Walsh? How could they conduct an investigation without talking to the guy that did the taping?" Specter would not indicate whether he expected to conduct a Senate hearing, and added, "I'm being very careful not to overplay the matter" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 2/5).
MORE SPECTER: Specter in the telephone interview "also addressed speculation that past financial contributions from Comcast and the law firm Blank Rome, which represents [Comcast] in lobbying efforts with Congress, have played a role in his decision to investigate the NFL." Specter said of the contributions, "I'd have to go back and see how much a percentage it is of the $23[M] I've raised over the years. It's a fraction of 1[%] and has nothing to do with what I'm doing" with the NFL investigation. Specter: "This is not in Comcast's interests to have an inquiry on the Super Bowl." According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Specter has received "more money from political action committees of Blank Rome and Comcast than from any other business." Blank has donated $358,483 and Comcast $153,600 to Specter since '99. Comcast Chair Brian Roberts in '07 "donated the maximum personal amount" of $2,300 tp Specter (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 2/5).
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Destruction Of "Spygate" Tapes Goodell's
First Misstep As Commissioner? |
REAX: In Denver, Dave Krieger wrote it is "beginning to look like [Goodell's] honeymoon is over." It "ended either when [Specter] asked him why he had destroyed evidence or when the wretches asked him, repeatedly, about Specter asking him why he had destroyed evidence." Krieger: "Who told [Goodell] destroying evidence was a good idea? Did I miss the appointment of G. Gordon Liddy as head of security?" (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 2/5). In L.A., Sam Farmer writes of the Spygate story, "Rest assured, until the air is cleared on the so-called Spygate scandal and the NFL conducts a transparent investigation that lets all fans -- and not just those of the Patriots -- believe that no stone has gone unturned, the story will not die." Steelers Owner Dan Rooney said, "The nature of the situation is that the media and the public will never write it off and say, 'OK, we've heard enough.' They'll never say that" (L.A. TIMES, 2/5). Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti, on whether the Spygate issue is still relevant: "It matters very much because it's possible now it was not an insolated incident." ESPN's Kevin Blackistone: "I wish it would go away. ... The NFL at this point in 2008 is built around film. They film everything. Everybody's got everybody's film.''("Around The Horn," ESPN, 2/4).
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