Spygate probably never will go away.
One reason is that several players, and even coaches, from teams the New England Patriots beat in the playoffs from 2001 through 2006 have been outspoken about their suspicions of cheating and rule-breaking.
Mike Martz, head coach of the St. Louis Rams team the Patriots upset in Super Bowl XXXVI, was thrust back into the Spygate controversy last week when an ESPN report claimed a statement on the NFL’s investigation that he gave commissioner Roger Goodell was edited.
Martz recently talked to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora about the league potentially adding to his statement after he submitted it.
“I can’t recall writing the last few lines of the statement,” Martz told La Canfora. “I don’t recall writing anything about Matt Walsh. Could it have been I did it? Maybe. But I don’t think I would have written that. I couldn’t say with 100 percent certainty that I didn’t.”
One of the accusations against the Patriots from Super Bowl XXXVI is that they taped the Rams’ pregame walk-through. Walsh was a video assistant with the Patriots during the 2001 season.
Martz told La Canfora that he has his “suspicions” about the Patriots videotaping or watching the Rams’ walk-through but added “it’s not something I really worry about or think about.”
The Super Bowl loss was the beginning of the end for Martz’s NFL head-coaching career. He went 0-2 in playoff games for the Rams from 2002 through 2004 before being fired in 2005. He never worked as a head coach again.
Thumbnail photo via Jerry Lai/USA TODAY Sports Images
