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Date: Sat, 02 Feb 2008 22:59:04 -0500
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From: "James M. Atkinson" <jm..._at_tscm.com>
Subject: Senator Wants N.F.L. Spying Case Explained
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/sports/football/01nfl.html?_r=1&scp=6&sq=espionage&st=nyt&oref=slogin
February 1, 2008
Senator Wants N.F.L. Spying Case Explained
By GREG BISHOP and PETE THAMEL
The ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary
Committee wants N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell
to explain why the league destroyed evidence
related to spying by the New England Patriots.
In the stretch of 12 days, from Sept. 9 to Sept.
20, the Patriots were caught filming the Jets
defensive signals in violation of N.F.L. rules,
ordered to hand over all tapes of illegal filming
to the league office, fined $750,000 and made to
forfeit a first-round draft pick.
Then the N.F.L. announced it had destroyed the evidence.
In a telephone interview Thursday morning,
Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania
and ranking member of the committee, said that
Goodell would eventually be called before the
committee to address two issues: the leagues
antitrust exemption in relation to its television
contract and the destruction of the tapes that revealed spying by the Patriots.
That requires an explanation, Specter said.
The N.F.L. has a very preferred status in our
country with their antitrust exemption. The
American people are entitled to be sure about the
integrity of the game. Its analogous to the
C.I.A. destruction of tapes. Or any time you have records destroyed.
Mr. Specter first wrote Mr. Goodell about the
tapes on Nov. 15. After more than a month passed
without a response, Mr. Specter wrote to him again.
The league responded to Mr. Specter late Thursday
afternoon. A spokesman said the letters did not
reach the league office until late last week. The
league added that it spoke to Mr. Specters
office several times during November and
December, but that the letters were never
mentioned. Mr. Specter said the league had told
his office last week it would not respond until after the Super Bowl.
Joe Browne, the N.F.L.s executive vice president
for internal affairs, said, The irony is that we
have been in contact with the senators office
several times in recent weeks. He added that
the issue of these letters was not discussed.
Mr. Specter called Mr. Brownes response untrue.
Its the same old story, Mr. Specter said.
What you did is never as important as the
cover-up. This sequence raises more concerns and doubts.
When Mr. Specter was asked if he could envision a
situation in which employees of the Patriots or
the N.F.L. were called to testify before the
committee, he said he wanted to take the investigation one step at a time.
It could, Mr. Specter said. Its premature to
say whom were going to call or when. It starts
with the commissioner. He had the tapes, and he
made the decision as to what the punishment could
be. He made the decision to destroy them.
Mr. Specter said it had not been determined when
Mr. Goodell would be called before the committee.
Matt Walsh, a Patriots employee from 1996 through
2003 who spent much of that time in the video
department, said he would like to see the issue resolved.
Was it a surprise that they were doing it or a
surprise that they got caught? Mr. Walsh said of
the videotaping incident. I guess that if youre
doing something that people suspect you of, and
then you start doing it to your former assistant
coaches, then youre pushing your luck.
Mr. Walsh declined to say whether he would be
willing to testify before a Congressional
committee. He also said he had not been contacted
by the N.F.L. about the Patriots or about videotaping.
Id like to see a resolution to the situation,
so I dont have to have field media calls,
especially after being out of the league for more than four years, he said.
Mr. Walsh, an assistant golf pro at the
Kaanapali Golf Resort in Lahaina, Hawaii,
declined to get into specifics of what he did
while with the Patriots video department, citing
confidentiality agreements he signed with the
team. Greg Aiello, an N.F.L. spokesman, said the
league did not have confidentiality agreements,
but teams were free to make their own with their employees.
After speaking to my lawyers and whatnot, I
cant really talk to you about anything, Mr.
Walsh said. And I cant show you anything. Mr.
Walsh said he had been approached by two news
organizations, a sports network and another
media outlet that doesnt even specialize in
sports. He said he would talk about his experiences only on his terms.
If someone wanted me to talk and tell them
things, I would craft an agreement where they
would agree from now until the end of my
existence to pay for any legal fees that came up
in regards to this, whether Im sued by the
Patriots, the N.F.L., anybody else, he said. He
also said he would want an indemnification
agreement, with the news media company paying any
fines or damages found against him in court. (It
is against the policy of The New York Times to be
part of such an agreement.) Mr. Walsh said he
sought the legal advice after receiving telephone
calls from the news media soon after the taping
incident. He said he did so to protect himself and his family.
If I ever got brought in for a deposition or
something, then I would just face the whole
gauntlet of questions, he said. There would be
things Id be forced to answer that some people
havent taken responsibility for.
The Patriots videotaping practices came into
question during the opening game of their
undefeated regular season. Jets security
personnel caught a Patriots employee filming the
Jets defensive signals from the sideline at Giants Stadium on Sept. 9.
Mr. Goodell, whose father, Charles, was a
congressman and later a senator from New York,
went on national television and promised a full
investigation. He ordered the Patriots to send in
any videotape filmed in violation of N.F.L.
rules, from any game in any season, to the league office.
After reviewing the tapes, the N.F.L. announced
it had destroyed them, saying it did so to
prevent them from being used to gain a competitive advantage.
Mr. Goodell levied the most severe penalty in
history on the Patriots the loss of a
first-round draft pick, a $500,000 fine for Coach
Bill Belichick and a $250,000 fine for the team.
The league said the penalty was for the Patriots
totality of conduct and not simply for the Jets game.
Mr. Goodell is to hold a news conference in
Phoenix on Friday morning. When asked if the
commissioner would address the destroyed
evidence, what was on the tapes and why that
information never was made public, Mr. Aiello,
the league spokesman, said, He will address whatever questions are asked.
The N.F.L. has addressed Mr. Specters concerns
about its antitrust exemption before.
Over the years, weve testified before Senator
Specter and the Judiciary Committee regarding our
limited antitrust exemption, Mr. Browne said.
Usually, its about television signals, not on-the-field defensive signals.
While responding to the antitrust exemption, the
N.F.L. again declined to discuss the destruction
of the tapes or discuss what they showed. Albert
Tortorella, the managing director of crisis
management for the Los Angeles-based Ogilvy
Public Relations Worldwide, said he found that puzzling.
Anytime Congress is involved with one of my
clients, I tell them to respond, Mr. Tortorella
said. You may not want to give Congress
anything. But ignoring them is not a good idea.
Mr. Specter, a lifelong Eagles fan who still
calls Philadelphia sports radio stations most
Monday mornings, said he was concerned about the
integrity of sports as much as any fan.
I dont think you have to have a law broken to
have a legitimate interest by the Congress on the
integrity of the game. He added: What if there
was something on the tapes we might want to be
subpoenaed, for example? You cant destroy it.
That would be obstruction of justice.
Its premature to make any suggestions until you
know a lot more about the matter. We need to know whats on those tapes.
Greg Bishop reported from Phoenix and Pete Thamel from Lahaina, Hawaii.
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