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So I’m reading for the twentieth time the agreement signed on Wednesday by the NFL and Matt Walsh, and something hit me.
The agreement specifically provides indemnity for Walsh with respect to “any alleged audiotaping by Walsh of any of his superiors while employed by the Club.” And that’s surely a reference to the contention from Patriots V.P. of player personnel Scott Pioli that Walsh was fired for secretly recording conversations between the two of them.
At the time, Walsh’s lawyer called the allegation a “complete fabrication.” So if it’s a complete fabrication, why would the indemnity agreement specifically include such activities? If it’s a “complete fabrication,” there’s no need to seek indemnity, is there?
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:40 pm
So Walsh is basically admitting he is a felon in this agreement. So are we really going to believe a guy who committed a felony to get himself fired from the Patriots. He should be thankful the Patriots never press charges or he would be in Cedar Junction rather than Hawaii right now.
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April 23rd, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Wait - didn’t you say Walsh’s LAWYER called the taping allegations a “complete fabrication”?
Well, ’nuff said.
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April 23rd, 2008 at 10:43 pm
You missed a couple of words there. Walsh’s lawyer didn’t call “the allegation a complete fabrication.” He said Scott Pioli’s VERSION is a complete fabrication. I said it months ago and will say it again. Walsh has audiotapes, and that is what was holding him back. They were illegally taped, and I think Walsh made them to protect himself in case in the future, should it come up, he could prove that he did not take it upon himself to make the videotapes. He was probably TOLD to. I’m getting the impression that he must’ve made copies then of the audio tapes as well (if he has copies now), since they were apparently confiscated back then. Perhaps they tell the true story.
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April 23rd, 2008 at 10:49 pm
OK - Parcells lying to the media is one thing, but now a LAWYER for Matt Walsh is lying to the media? This has gone too far.
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April 23rd, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Based on your assumptions only. He could have audiotaped anybody in the organization besides Pioli and his attorney’s statement would still be accurate.
Could something actually “news worthy” get posted on here? This stuff about the Patriots is old and boring. The Patriots cheated and got caught, yadda, yadda, yadda. Like your t-shirt said, 19 -D’Oh! Let’s leave it at that and move on to something that’s actually meaningful to the game of football. Besides, don’t you guys have draft needs to still get posted up?
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April 23rd, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Also, wouldn’t the Patriots need indemnity more than Walsh if it is truly “a predictable and pathetic effort to smear Mr. Walsh’s character”? Doesn’t Walsh have a better civil case vs. the Patriots if it is a total fabrication than the Patriots have against Walsh? Why would Walsh need indemnity if he can countersue the Patriots for millions?
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April 23rd, 2008 at 11:11 pm
That is too awesome for words. Medias favorite darling team could be nailed to the wall. I still say Belicheat should have been suspended.
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April 23rd, 2008 at 11:32 pm
spyboots,
No way does Walsh produce audio tapes. It is a felony in Massachusetts to audiotape someone without their knowledge. So you really think Walsh is going to basically send himself to prison by turning over tapes. No lawyer in the world would let his client handover a smoking gun to a crime he wasn’t charged with yet.
You are reaching. There are no audiotapes.
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April 23rd, 2008 at 11:35 pm
BTW, I do love the logic that Walsh is going to protect himself from the Patriots by publically handing over evidence that can send him to prison. Indemnity is not immunity and the League cannot stop the state of Massachusetts from seeking felony charges against Walsh.
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April 24th, 2008 at 12:00 am
They are cheaters and the staff involved should be fired and then banned from the league.
Northland Viking
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April 24th, 2008 at 12:24 am
Belicheat may very well still be suspended. I’ve been saying all along there is more to this story and it looks like we’re about to find out for sure. I’ll try not to laugh too hard as the mighty patsies come crashing down.
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April 24th, 2008 at 12:57 am
Pats fans have no earthly idea what Walsh has, if anything. Hell, I don’t know what the chump has either.
Since Belichek says they don’t have anything, they simply believe him. For whatever reason, they seem to have forgotten their team was already caught cheating.
Is it too far of a leap to presume they cheated more than we already know they cheated?
For all Pats fans, TRY waiting until this mess is over. Once the Pats are in the clear, yank out those “18-1″ t-shirts and start partying. Until then, let’s not comment on a situation you know nothing about.
Don’t forget, dynasties don’t lose Super Bowls.
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April 24th, 2008 at 1:01 am
If Walsh’s story proves Belichick lied to the Commish, the Commish in turn suspends Belchick indefinitely for lying/cheating/having an ego the size of Montana/really bad fashion sense, does this mean that Jerry Jones will offer Bobby Kraft a 1st, a 2nd, and 1 of the superbowl trophies for his rights?
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April 24th, 2008 at 2:08 am
I agree Beli should have been suspended. And all the evidence of cheating shouldn’t have been destroyed.
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April 24th, 2008 at 2:45 am
Its an ‘OUT’ for the patriots and an opportunity to portray Walsh as a ‘Rogue’ and/or loner.
In my opinion, that would be hard to do because:
1. Obviously, the Jets game, in which a totally different guy is doing the same thing
2. Coach Herm Edwards, smiling and waving at Pats cameras.
3. Not to mention, Belicheck himself said “He thought it was okay.”
I could go on and on but I don’t want to seem like an upset Steelers fan. LOL!
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April 24th, 2008 at 7:19 am
This is so old! Wake up people, there is “cheating” on almost every play in NFL games. Some cheating that is not immediately caught by NFL officials even results in changing the outcome of a Super Bowl game.
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April 24th, 2008 at 7:51 am
“Until then, let’s not comment on a situation you know nothing about.”
You should take your own advice, because it is a two way street. For every Patriot-hater out there salivating at their keyboards and holding vigil the past 83 days and praying for their lord and savior Matt Walsh to rise up and bring them to the promiseland and waiting to pat themselves on the back and laugh and say I told you so… there is a Patriots fan waiting to do the same thing.
You know nothing. I know nothing. EVERYONE should take a chill pill until day 102 of this CRISIS brings us “closure” on May 13th.
Early prediction: no matter what happens, you’re all still going to b!tch about it.
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April 24th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Manofsteel:
You just don’t get it do you! The Patriots ADMITTED to taping games back to when BB started in ‘00 and they were punished for it. If Walsh has any tapes of games during this time it doesn’t matter since they already admitted to it and were punished. The only thing that makes a difference is if Walsh has evidence of other wrong doings.
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April 24th, 2008 at 8:40 am
KY,
There is a big difference between videotaping defensive signals (which has been exposed as less than a unique practice since Jimmy Johnson has said he, the Chiefs, and other teams have done it in the past) and videotaping a walkthrough.
Matt Walsh appears to be admitting he is a felon in this agreement. As a criminal, is it a stretch to believe that anything he says without proof is a lie? He is the only one in this whole thing accused of an actual crime punishable by the law and he seems to admit it happened.
The Dynasties line just show you are just a biased hater who hates the Pats that you won’t look at the facts other than to twist them to suit your agenda. Sorta like you are accusing the Pats fans. In your mind, Walsh has the goods to sink the Pats.
BTW, exactly what team are you a fan of and how many Super Bowls since you are so preoccupied with dynasties and Super Bowls? Personally, I could care less if the Pats are considered a Dynasty because it is just a word.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Attention all PinHeads !! Try to get a grip here . Please listen carefully….
Matt Walsh is a disgruntled former employee who thought he was more important than he really was. He got fired for not doing avery good job….didn’t take it well…and vowed revenge. Now, with that out of the way….he is also a headline seeker (notice the timing ….right before the Super Bowl and right before the Draft)
Ok…now onto the important stuff :
1) The Patriots were ORDERED by Goodell to turn over any and all videotapes “IN THEIR POSSESSION” They did that. Do the math you bunch of robots…..if Matt Walsh had any videotapes in HIS possession, the Patriots did not have those videotapes to turn in. Are ya following ??? I know it’s hard for you Eagle and Ram fans…but try. Let’s review….if Matt Walsh stole videotapes from the Patriots….they could not have turned them into the NFL. (Repeat that 10 times)
The Patriots broke a rule by videotaping defensive signals in the first half of the Jets game last season. They were punished for it….severely.
Videotaping defensive signals was a league wide practice, done by EVERY NFL TEAM prior to 2007. That has been verified by almost every coach in the league. The Patriots (and I use this term loosely) made a mistake by doing it again after the league memo went out prior to last season. Agreed. Whether it was a misinterpretation of the rule as Belichik stated, or just arrogance on his part, no longer matters. They were punished. They broke a rule, they were punished. Ok? There…now…let’s move on.
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April 24th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Okay, everyone, let’s get it straight. Walsh is looking for protection because he secretly audiotaped conversations with Pioli which is illegal. This is the leverage the Pats had over his head. Now, the sticking point is: Walsh will not suffer reprecussions for what he says; but, since he is a vindictive and bitter employee (scorned woman), he can neither run his mouth and fabricate actions that did not happen. Look, I make no bones about it, I am a Pats fan. All I have to say is with the way he (Walsh)has been running his mouth; he better have something unbelievably great against the Pats. This has been more hyped than anything else in the world. And, Arlen Specter better hope something comes out of it or he will look like an idiot as well. i do not know if i would’ve bet my money on Walsh.
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April 24th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Lots of Pats h8ters here showing their IQ’s.
Noone knows what Walsh has to add to the story. I suspect it will be some minimal nonsense not a smoking gun like the h8ters are hoping for. In any case it will all come out soon enough and hopefully we will all finally find out what it is. I just hope that all of you so called football fans realize that what you are condemning is an NFL issue NOT a PATS issue. So while you are throwing around the C-word so freely, realize that your team is most likely guilty of similar if not worse violations.
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April 24th, 2008 at 9:00 am
We still don’t know what Walsh has! I doubt there’s anything new.. I say that because…Any thunder he may have had is out already! BB and Robert kraft certianly mended some fences… at the owner’s meetings.
In fact, had Eric Mangini realized to what extent this would have on the league and the Pats…He would’ve handled the situation in a differint fashion! Mangini knew about the taping, he worked for the Pats for 6 yrs under BB. In fact he tried taping the playoff game in 2006 and thier guy was asked to leave. The wasn’t permission given by the Pats or the organiztion….
After the embarressing loss in the play offs, Eric was propbably upset and some amount of revenge has to be considered here!
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April 24th, 2008 at 9:06 am
juxtapoz15,
I agree. If all Walsh has is more examples of videotaping defensive signals, it means nothing will happen and people will be asking themselves “Is this it?”.
If you look at the timeline, Walsh said he had information before it became known that the Pats admitted to videotaping defensive signals since 2000. Mike Fish who wrote the initial ESPN piece on Walsh even said this week that he didn’t know the Patriots admitted to this when he was interviewing Walsh. So Walsh probably didn’t know it either.
Walsh, nor his lawyers, have ever even hinted they have the videotape of the Rams’ walkthrough nor that he is even the videographer who was subject of the rumor published by the Boston Herald. The media and fans have just speculated that he is, but there is no proof that he is nor any indication he will even claim he is.
Peter King was on Mike and Mike this morning and he said that through his sources, he believes Walsh will not provide anything more than more examples of the Pats videotaping opposing signals. If he is right, the whole thing will be over and the Pats will be exonerated of the rumors and allegations of other types of cheating.
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April 24th, 2008 at 9:25 am
OK. So the chronology goes something like this–Walsh secretly audiotapes one or more Pats FO employees. Pioli discovers this–and, per Pioli, _listens to at least one of the tapes_. In other words, he knows that anything that was discussed while Walsh was an employee might be on tape. The Pats do not seem to be particularly concerned by this, and, in fact, note more than once that they have _not_ made Walsh stay silent. Last I checked, a lack of intelligence has never been a criticism of the Pats’ FO–so why bait someone if you really think they might have something damning?
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