Bill Belichick Breaks Silence on Allegations, Denies Taping Super Bowl XXXVI Practice
Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL
By now I’m sure you’ve heard that former St. Louis Rams player Willie Gary (yeah, I’ve never heard of him either) is suing the New England Patriots for allegedly videotaping one of the Rams’ practices before Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002. I didn’t write about it because I didn’t see any validity in his argument and I had never even heard of Willie Gary. Had Kurt Warner or Marshall Faulk filed a suit, it would have been a different story. Of course, they’re not that desperate. Anyway, the $100 million suit, which was filed in a U.S. District Court in New Orleans, names the Patriots, team owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick as the bad guys.
Here’s the breakdown. Willie Gary wants each member of the Rams Super Bowl roster to receive $150,000. According to Willie’s suit, each Ram should get $25,000, which is the difference between the bonuses paid to the losing team and the winning team, as well as $125,000 as compensation for not receiving a Super Bowl XXXVI ring, an amount Willie arrived at because he says that’s what a Super Bowl ring would fetch on eBay. The lawsuit also seeks a refund on behalf of everyone who bought a ticket to Super Bowl XXXVI. All this without any evidence that the videotaping actually happened. Humorous, isn’t it?
Well, Coach Belichick broke his silence on the matter last night in an interview with the Boston Globe, denying he told anyone to tape the St. Louis Rams’ walkthrough before the Super Bowl. He also apologized for all the attention generated by “Spygate.” A guy named Matt Walsh, a former Patriots employee, reportedly taped St. Louis’ walkthrough practice the day before the Patriots beat the Rams 20-17 in the Super Bowl. But Coach Belichick said he “couldn’t pick Matt Walsh out of a lineup” and added:
“In my entire coaching career, I’ve never seen another team’s practice film prior to playing that team. 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.”
Take what you will from that statement. My feeling is, when you’re convicted of one crime (as in “Spygate”), scavengers with too much time on their hands and too little money in their pockets will see the potential to profit off the momentum. In this matter, I don’t see the case going anywhere. But I do believe others will follow in an attempt to add to the Pats’ guilt. It will happen. You can count on that. Whether or not any of it will be valid is yet to be seen.
Tags: bill-belichick, Matt Walsh, New England Patriots, Robert Craft, spygate, Willie GaryRelated Stories
POSTED IN: New England Patriots
0 opinions for Bill Belichick Breaks Silence on Allegations, Denies Taping Super Bowl XXXVI Practice
No one has left a comment yet. You know what this means, right? You could be first!
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: