Unless this is the first time you’ve opened your Internet browser, you’ve probably already heard that ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” published a report Tuesday detailing the New England Patriots’ 2007 Spygate incident.
The ESPN report alleges Spygate went even deeper than originally reported and that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell played a part in destroying evidence of widespread videotaping by the Patriots. It deduces that this failure on the NFL’s part is what led the league to hand quarterback Tom Brady such a harsh punishment for his alleged involvement in Deflategate.
But there were a few problems with the extensive report, and one involves the “rumor” that the Patriots filmed the St. Louis Rams’ walk-throughs ahead of Super Bowl XXXVI. The report brings that incident up with no mention that it was found to be false.
“A former member of the NFL competition committee says the committee spent much of 2001-06 ‘discussing ways in which the Patriots cheated,’ even if nothing could be proved,” the report reads. “It reached a level of paranoia in which conspiracy theories ran wild and nothing — the notion of bugging locker rooms or of Brady having a second frequency in his helmet to help decipher the defense — was out of the realm of possibility.
“There were regular rumors that the Patriots had taped the Rams’ walk-through practice before Super Bowl XXXVI in February 2002, one of the greatest upsets in NFL history, a game won by the Patriots 20-17 on a last-second Adam Vinatieri field goal. The rumors and speculation reached a fever pitch in 2006.”
What’s even more interesting about this addition to the report is that ESPN recently apologized to the Patriots for reporting the rumor as fact on their network twice.
The Patriots released a statement Tuesday denouncing the “Outside the Lines” report, but there wasn’t any mention of specific details. Either way, it appears talk of Patriots scandals won’t end any time soon.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
