Patriots Deny Taping Rams Practice
Belichick, Pioli Claim Team Didn't Tape Super Bowl Rivals
New England Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick and vice president Scott Pioli said they didn't have the team videotape the St. Louis Rams walk-through before Super Bowl.
New England Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick has denied outright accusations that the team spied on the St. Louis Rams prior to Super Bowl XXXVI.
Belichick and Patriots’ vice president Scott Pioli told the Boston Globe Sunday that the team never told former videographer Matt Walsh to shoot footage of the Rams’ practice walk-through just prior to the Super Bowl in Feb. 2002.
'In my entire coaching career, I've never seen another team's practice film prior to playing that team,' Belichick declared. 'I have never authorized, or heard of, or even seen in any way, shape, or form any other team's walkthrough. We don't even film our own.'
Attorney Michael Levy, who represents Walsh, called the team’s statement a “complete fabrication.” Pioli said the club terminated Walsh after it caught the ex-employee recording front office conversations.
The Boston Herald reported on Feb. 2 that New England had videotaped the Rams. That was the day before the Pats lost Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants, 17-14. The statements Sunday night were the first made by New England club officials since the allegations were raised.
Walsh claimed he had videos proving he taped the Rams, but his lawyer said Walsh wanted immunity from the NFL before he’d discuss the matter with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and – possibly – Congressional investigators, as well. U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., has queried Goodell about why the league destroyed evidence turned over by Belichick after the Patriots were caught videotaping signals by the New York Jets during the initial regular season game in 2007. The matter has been termed, "Spygate."
According to published reports Belichick turned over six videotapes and assorted notes to the NFL after the Jets complained about the taping incident. He reportedly signed an affidavit attesting that there were no additional smoking guns – in other words, the material he gave the NFL was all there was to it.
Many astute journalists who cover the National Football League assert that, if caught lying about the extent of the video operation, Belichick could be suspended for a year or more. But Pioli claimed Walsh was a loose cannon, saying he determined that Walsh was secretly recording conversations after "two other employees saw him doing it, and I checked after, and heard it on the tape myself." Pioli said he fired Walsh in Jan. 2003.
The Patriots’ denials were issued several days after a former Rams player and three St. Louis fans filed a class action suit against the franchise in U.S. District Court in New Orleans.
