Spygate Back in the News Following Extensive Report from ESPN

Ken Bell

kbell@abc6.com

Just when it appeared DeflateGate was losing its grip on the news, along comes a lengthy report on Spygate by ESPN.  The report quotes 90 league executives, owners, current and former Patriots players, coaches, and players, another many others although almost all quotes are from anonymous sources. 

New details maintain the Pats videotaped defensive signals in 40 games instead of the 6 announced before the 2008 Super Bowl by Roger Goodell.  The report says team employees would sneak into the visitor’s locker room to steal play sheets, and rummage through hotel rooms looking for playbooks and scouting reports.

One owner says DeflateGate was a "make-up call" for Spygate.

The Patriots issued the following statement in response to the report.

"The New England Patriots have never filmed or recorded another team’s practice or walkthrough. The first time we ever heard of such an accusation came in 2008, the day before Super Bowl XLII, when the Boston Herald reported an allegation from a disgruntled former employee. That report created a media firestorm that extended globally and was discussed incessantly for months. It took four months before that newspaper retracted its story and offered the team a front and back page apology for the damage done. Clearly, the damage has been irreparable. As recently as last month, over seven years after the retraction and apology was issued, ESPN issued the following apology to the Patriots for continuing to perpetuate the myth: ‘On two occasions in recent weeks, SportsCenter incorrectly cited a 2002 report regarding the New England Patriots and Super Bowl XXXVI. That story was found to be false, and should not have been part of our reporting. We apologize to the Patriots organization.’

"This type of reporting over the past seven years has led to additional unfounded, unwarranted and, quite frankly, unbelievable allegations by former players, coaches and executives. None of which have ever been substantiated, but many of which continue to be propagated. The New England Patriots are led by an owner whose well-documented efforts on league wide initiatives – from TV contracts to preventing a work stoppage – have earned him the reputation as one of the best in the NFL. For the past 16 years, the Patriots have been led by one of the league’s all-time greatest coaches and one of its alltime greatest quarterbacks. It is disappointing that some choose to believe in myths, conjecture and rumors rather than giving credit for the team’s successes to Coach [Bill] Belichick, his staff and the players for their hard work, attention to detail, methodical weekly preparation, diligence and overall performance."

ABC6 Sports reporter Nick Coit has player reaction from Gillette Stadium.