|
 Boston
Herald Under Fire
for Patriots "Spy
Gate" Story
Regarding Rams Tape
The
Boston Herald has
come under increased
scrutiny following
Patriots employee
Matt Walsh's
disclosure that he
did not tape the
Rams' final
walk-through
practice before the
2002 Super Bowl.
Walsh
had long been
rumored to have
evidence that the
team videotaped
opponents in
violation of NFL
rules.
On
ESPN Radio this
morning, reporter
Chris Mortensen
suggested that the
Boston Herald
reported the story
because they have
"lower standards
than other media
outlets".
"Other media outlets
including ESPN, had
this allegation and
pursued this
allegation for
months, and it just
didn't meet the
standard in terms of
what you needed to
report it, and the
Boston Herald
evidently felt they
had met the standard
to report it,"
Mortensen said.
"They need to come
out and say, 'We
stand by our story'
or they need to have
a retraction and
apology and deal
with the
consequences of it,
but certainly it's
damaging to the
Boston Herald at
this point,
especially if they
stay silent on the
subject."
A New York Times
report, however,
indicated that tapes
provided by Walsh
reveal the Patriots
recorded
play-calling signals
of five opponents in
six games between
the 2000 and 2002
seasons. In addition
to the Dolphins and
the Bills, the tapes
will reveal the
Patriots recorded
the signals of the
offensive and
defensive coaches in
regular-season games
with the Cleveland
Browns and the San
Diego Chargers, as
well as taping the
Pittsburgh Steelers
in the 2002 AFC
Championship Game.
The league initially
portrayed the taping
practices as
limited, though
officials have since
said that coach Bill
Belichick has
acknowledged
violating the policy
since joining the
Patriots in 2000.
----
Dan
Shapiro,
Gambling911.com
Originally published
May 8, 2008 10:28 am
EST
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