Two months have come and gone since the Boston Herald reported Matt Walsh’s illegal video taping regarding the St. Louis Rams walk though prior to Super Bowl XXXVI. Two months and yet no evidence has been presented to the NFL or to the Patriots organization verifying the allegations. The Patriots organization would like to move on, but the Spygate issue still lingers on.
Patriots Chairman/CEO Robert Kraft and Coach Bill Bilichick were both in attendance at the Annual NFL Owners Meeting. Both also addressed Spygate with the media.
Kraft said concerning Matt Walsh: “A newspaper made a damaging allegation about the so-called Matt Walsh affair. I believe it is something that never happened. If so, why wouldn’t [two months later] anything have come out? But, we live in a society where people can make any kind of allegations. But then, it has to be substantiated.”
Kraft also stated, “He [Walsh] never signed any confidentiality statement with us, so as far as I’m concerned, I don’t know why he doesn’t just come out and speak.” Kraft continued, “Allegations were made and why it took five - six years to come out, and then two months after it’s come out, there is nothing … you folks decide why that hasn’t happened."
During the special privilege session of the meeting, Kraft addressed his fellow owners, as well as each of the other 31 NFL coaches, offering the organization's apology for the "Spygate" saga and the fallout it has caused the NFL.
Coach Tony Dungy, who was present, said "I thought it was very, very sincere and heartfelt, and I appreciated what he had to say."
"I think it's a wonderful thing for Mr. Kraft to do," said Colts president Bill Polian. "I personally don't think it was necessary, but that's just typical of the kind of class he has.” Polian further stated, "I certainly appreciate everything that Mr. Kraft and his family have done for the league. They have made the league a much better league since they have been members of it and certainly, from one man's point of view, he does not need to apologize for anything."
Coach Bill Belichick tried to put a positive spin on aftermath of Spygate. The Patriots have re-organized their operation since the team was fined for their illegal videotaping procedures. “I’d say going forward, as difficult as dealing with some of this situation has been, we’ve taken it as a positive and done a lot of things in our organization to reorganize a number of things, in terms of making sure everything is being done on a more efficient and more accountable basis, to make sure a situation like this never comes up again.”
As a final note, Kraft acknowledged that he is not over the loss of Super Bowl XLII. When questioned if he felt the franchise's previous three Super Bowls were tainted in any way, Kraft answered, “I think we’ve covered the subject. We broke a rule the first week of the season and were penalized very heavily, and look what happened after that game. To me, that says more than anything."
As you can see, the Patriots are moving on while the Lawyers for the NFL and Walsh continue to work toward a resolution.
Note: The title Tainted Dynasty is only a reflection of the continuing Spygate saga and not of the New England Patriot Players and all of their accomplishments over the last seven years.
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