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NFL

Goodell Learns Little From Spygate Meeting

Commissioner Met With Matt Walsh For Three Hours

POSTED: 5:54 am PDT May 13, 2008
UPDATED: 1:52 pm PDT May 13, 2008

After meeting with former Patriots employee Matt Walsh for more than three hours at the NFL league offices Tuesday to discuss New England's videotaping of opposing coaches' play-calling signals, Commissioner Roger Goodell said there was no major new information uncovered.

Goodell said the videotapes Walsh sent to the NFL showed the New England Patriots committing violations that the league had already punished the Patriots for last fall when allegations first came out that the team videotaped the New York Jets sidelines.

At that time, the NFL fined coach Bill Belichick $500,000, the Patriots $250,000 and stripped the team of its first-round draft choice.

The commissioner also said Walsh did not have evidence of the Patriots taping a walk-through of the St. Louis Rams practice before the 2002 Super Bowl. Walsh told the commissioner he was never asked to tape the practice and he had no information of such a tape existing, as the Boston Herald previously reported.

"For the past three-and-a-half months, we have been defending ourselves against assumptions made based on an unsubstantiated report rather than on facts or evidence," the Patriots said in a statement.

They added: "We hope that with Matt Walsh's disclosures, everyone will finally believe what we have been saying all along and emphatically stated on the day of the initial report: 'The suggestion that the New England Patriots recorded the St. Louis Rams' walk-through on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 is absolutely false. Any suggestion to the contrary is untrue."'

Goodell said his meeting with Walsh did result in some new information.

The former Patriots employee told the commissioner there was a tape that showed a player who was placed on injured reserve practicing. Goodell said Walsh gave the name of the player and that the league would look into the claim. He said that if it turns out the team did commit a violation, the Patriots could be fined.

Walsh also told Goodell that the team scalped eight to 12 Super Bowl tickets. The commissioner said the league would look into the allegations.

Prior to Tuesday's news conference, the NFL released the tapes Walsh sent to the league. The clips cut from shots of opposing coaches going through their signals to the play that followed.

After Tuesday's meeting, Walsh's attorney, Michael Levy, said that the former Patriots employee was "pleased he had the opportunity to assist the National Football League."

Walsh left the NFL offices and went to meet with Sen. Arlen Specter in Washington. The Pennsylvania Republican has been critical of the NFL's handling of the so-called "Spygate" investigation.

Walsh worked for New England from 1997 to 2003. He sent the NFL eight videotapes last week that showed the Patriots recording play-calling signals.


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