[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 14, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4175-S4177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS VIDEOTAPING
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, the Patriots engaged in extensive
videotaping of opponents' offensive and defensive signals starting on
August 20, 2000, and extending to September 9, 2007, when they were
publicly caught videotaping the Jets.
The extent of the taping was not disclosed until the NFL was
pressured to do so. Originally, Commissioner Goodell said the taping
was limited to late in the 2006 season and early in the 2007 season. In
his meeting with me on February 13, 2008, Goodell admitted the taping
went back to 2000. Until my meeting with Matt Walsh on May 13, 2008,
the only taping we knew about took place from 2000 until 2002 and
during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.
That left an obvious gap between 2003 and 2005. In response to my
questions, Matt Walsh stated he had season tickets in 2003, 2004 and
2005 and saw Steve Scarnecchia, his successor, videotape games during
those seasons including:
The Patriots' September 9, 2002, game against the Steelers.
The Patriots' November 16, 2003, game against the Cowboys.
The Patriots' September 25, 2005, game against the Steelers, which
the Steelers resoundingly won 34-20.
Walsh stated he observed Scarnecchia filming additional Patriots home
games, though he could not recall the specific games.
Walsh said he did not tell Goodell about the taping during 2003, 2004
and 2005 because he was not asked.
The NFL confiscated the Jets tape on September 9, 2007; imposed the
penalties on September 13, 2007; on September 17, 2007, viewed the
tapes for the first time; and then announced they had destroyed those
tapes on September 20, 2007. Commissioner Goodell made his judgment on
the punishment to be levied before he had viewed the key evidence.
Matt Walsh and other Patriots employees, Steve Scarnecchia, Jimmy
Dee, Fernando Neto and possibly Ed Bailey were present to observe most
if not all of the St. Louis Rams walk-through practice in advance of
the 2002 Super Bowl, including Marshall Faulk's unusual positioning as
a punt returner.
David Halberstam's book, ``The Education of a Coach,'' documents the
way Belichick spent the week before the Super Bowl obsessing about
where the Rams would line up Faulk.
Walsh was asked and told Assistant Coach, Brian Daboll, about the
walkthrough. Walsh said Daboll asked him specific questions about the
Rams offense and Walsh told Daboll about Faulk's lining up as a kick
returner. Walsh also told Daboll about Rams running backs ``lining up
in the flat.'' Walsh said Daboll then drew diagrams of the formations
Walsh had described. According to media reports, Daboll denied talking
to Walsh about Faulk. We do not know what Scarnecchia, Dee, Neto or
Bailey did or even if they were interviewed.
The Patriots took elaborate steps to conceal their filming of
opponents' signals. Patriots personnel instructed Walsh to use a
``cover story'' if anyone questioned him about the filming.
For example, if asked why the Patriots had an extra camera filming,
he was instructed to say that he was filming ``tight shots'' of a
particular player or players or that he was filming highlights. If
asked why he was not filming the play on the field, he was instructed
to say that he was filming the down marker.
The red light indicating when his camera was rolling was broken.
During at least one game, the January 27, 2002, AFC Championship
game, Walsh was specifically instructed not to wear anything displaying
a Patriots logo. Walsh indicated he turned the Patriots sweatshirt he
was wearing at the time inside-out. Walsh was also given a generic
credential instead of one that identified him as team personnel.
These efforts to conceal the filming demonstrate the Patriots knew
they were violating NFL rules.
The filming enabled the Patriots coaching staff to anticipate the
defensive plays called by the opposing team. According to Walsh, he
first filmed an opponents' signals during the August 20, 2000,
preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After Walsh filmed a
game, he would provide the tape for Ernie Adams, a coaching assistant
for the Patriots, who would match the signals with the plays.
Walsh was told by a former offensive player that a few days before
the September 3, 2000, regular season game against Tampa Bay, he--the
offensive player--was called into a meeting with Adams, Bill Belichick
and Charlie Weis, then the offensive coordinator for the Patriots,
during which it was explained how the Patriots would make use of the
tapes. The offensive player would memorize the signals and then watch
for Tampa Bay's defensive calls during the game. He would then pass the
plays along to Weis, who would give instructions to the quarterback on
the field. This process enabled the Patriots to go to a ``no-huddle''
offensive, which would lock in the defense the opposing team had called
from the sideline, preventing the defense from making any adjustments.
When Walsh asked whether the tape he had filmed was helpful, the
offensive player said it had enabled the team to anticipate 75 percent
of the plays being called by the opposing team.
Among the tapes Walsh turned over to the NFL is one of the AFC
Championship game on January 27, 2002, in which the Patriots defeated
the Steelers by a score of 24-17. When the Patriots played the Steelers
again during
[[Page S4176]]
their season-opener on September 9, 2002, the Patriots again won, this
time by a score of 30-14.
On October 31, 2004, the Steelers beat the Patriots 34-20, forced
four turnovers, including two interceptions, and sacked the quarterback
four times. In the AFC Championship game on January 23, 2005, the
Patriots won 41-27 and intercepted Ben Roethlisberger three times. The
Steelers had no sacks that game.
With respect to the 2002 AFC Championship game, it was reported in
February of this year that Hines Ward, Steelers wide receiver, said:
``Oh, they know. They were calling our stuff out. They knew, especially
that first championship game here at Heinz Field. They knew a lot of
our calls. There's no question some of their players were calling out
some of our stuff.''
In addition, Eagles cornerback, Sheldon Brown, reportedly said
earlier this year that he noticed a difference in New England's play
calling in the second quarter of the February 6, 2005, Super Bowl game.
Tampa Bay won the August 20, 2000, preseason game by a score of 31-
21. According to the information provided by Matt Walsh, the Patriots
used the film to their advantage when they played Tampa Bay in their
first regular season game on September 3, 2000. The Patriots narrowed
the spread, losing by a score of 21-16. After the game, Charlie Weis,
the Patriots' offensive coordinator, was reportedly overheard telling
Tampa Bay's defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin, ``We knew all your
calls, and you still stopped us.'' The tapes Walsh turned over to the
NFL indicate the Patriots filmed the Dolphins during their game on
September 24, 2000, a game the Patriots lost by 10-3.
According to Walsh, when the Patriots first began filming opponents,
they filmed opponents they would play again during that same season.
The Patriots played the Dolphins again that season on December 24,
2000; they again narrowed the spread, losing by a score of 27-24.
According to Walsh, he filmed the Patriots' game against Buffalo on
November 5, 2000, a game the Patriots lost 16-13. When the Patriots
played the Bills again that season on December 17, 2000, the Patriots
won by a score of 13-10.
During the following season, Walsh filmed the Patriots' game against
the Jets on September 23, 2001, a game the Patriots lost by a score of
10-3. When the Patriots played the Jets again that season on December
2, 2001, the Patriots won by a score of 17-16.
The tapes Walsh turned over to the NFL indicate the Patriots filmed
the Dolphins during their game on October 7, 2001, a game the Patriots
lost by 30-10. When the Patriots played the Dolphins again that season
on December 22, 2001, the Patriots won by a score of 20-13.
The Patriots filmed opponents offensive signals in addition to
defensive signals. On April 23, 2008, the NFL issued a statement
indicating that ``Commissioner Goodell determined last September that
the Patriots had violated league rules by videotaping opposing coaches'
defensive signals during Patriots games throughout Bill Belichick's
tenure as head coach.'' However, the tapes turned over by Matt Walsh
contain footage of offensive signals. The tapes turned over to the NFL
and the information provided by Walsh proves that the Patriots also
routinely filmed opponents' offensive signals.
Why the Patriots videotaped signals during games when they were not
scheduled to play that opponent during the balance of the season unless
they were able to utilize the videotape during the latter portion of
the same game. The NFL has not addressed the question as to whether the
Patriots decoded signals during the game for later use in that game.
Mark Schlereth, a former NFL offensive lineman and an ESPN football
analyst, is quoted in the New York Time on May 14:
Then why are you doing it against teams you aren't going to
play again that season?''
Schlereth said that ``the breadth of information on the
tapes mainly, the coaches' signals and the subsequent play
would be simple for someone to analyze during a game. There
are enough plays in the first quarter, he said, to glean any
team's ``staples,'' and a quick review of them could prove
immediately helpful. I don't see them wasting time if they
weren't using it in that game.
Walsh said that Dan Goldberg, an attorney for the Patriots, was
present at his interview and asked questions. With some experience in
investigations, I have never heard of a situation where the subject of
an investigation or his/her/its representative was permitted to be
present during the investigation. It strains credulity that any
objective investigator would countenance such a practice. During a
hearing or trial, parties will be present with the right of cross-
examination and confrontation but certainly not in the investigative
stage.
Commissioner Goodell misrepresented the extent of the taping when he
said at the Super Bowl press conference on February 1, 2008:
I believe there were six tapes, and I believe some were
from the pre-season in 2007, and the rest were primarily in
the late 2006 season. In addition, there were notes that had
been collected, that I would imagine many teams have from
when they scout a team in advance, that we took, that may
have been collected by using an illegal activity, according
to our rules. Later, Goodell said of the taping [W]e think it
was quite limited. It was not something that was done on a
widespread basis.
Commissioner Goodell materially changed his story in his meeting with
me on February 13, 2008, when he said there has been taping since 2000.
There has been no plausible explanation as to why Commissioner
Goodell imposed the penalty on September 13, 2007, before the NFL
examined the tapes on September 17, 2007.
There has been no plausible explanation as to why the NFL destroyed
the tapes. Commissioner Goodell sought to explain his reason by saying
during his February 1, 2008 press conference that:
We didn't want there to be any question about whether this
existed. If it shows up again, it would have to be something
that came outside of our investigation and what I was told
existed.
On April 23, 2008, the NFL issued a statement that the penalties
imposed on the Patriots last fall were solely for filming defensive
signals. ``Commissioner Goodell determined last September that the
Patriots had violated league rules by videotaping opposing coaches'
defensive signals during Patriots games throughout Bill Belichick's
tenure as head coach.'' The tapes turned over by Matt Walsh also
contain footage of offensive signals.
The overwhelming evidence flatly contradicts Commissioner Goodell's
assertion that there was little or no effect on the outcome of the
game: during his February 1, 2008, press conference, Commissioner
Goodell stated ``I think it probably had a limited effect, if any
effect, on the outcome on any game.'' Later during the press
conference, Goodell stated again ``I don't believe it affected the
outcome of any games.'' Commissioner Goodell's effort to minimize the
effect of the videotaping is categorically refuted by the persistent
use of the sophisticated scheme which required a great deal of effort
and produced remarkable results.
In the absence of the notes, which the NFL destroyed, of the
Steelers' three regular season games and two postseason games,
including the championship game on January 23, 2005, we do not know
what effect the videotaping of the earlier games, especially the
October 31, 2004, game, had on enabling the Patriots to win the AFC
Championship. It is especially critical that key witnesses--coaches,
players--be questioned to determine those issues.
Failure to question--or at least publicly disclose the results of--
key witnesses to other matters identified herein on what we do not
know.
On the totality of the available evidence and the potential unknown
evidence, the Commissioner's investigation has been fatally flawed. The
lack of candor, the piecemeal disclosures, the changes in position on
material matters, the failure to be proactive in seeking out other key
witnesses, and responding only when unavoidable when evidence is thrust
upon the NFL leads to the judgment that an impartial investigation is
mandatory.
There is an unmistakable atmosphere of conflict of interest or
potential conflict of interest between what is in the public's interest
and what is in the NFL's interest. The NFL has good reason to disclose
as little as possible in its effort to convince the public that what
was done wasn't so bad, had no significant effect on the games and, in
[[Page S4177]]
any event, has all been cleaned up. Enormous financial interests are
involved and the owners have a mutual self-interest in sticking
together. Evidence of winning by cheating would have the inevitable
effect of undercutting public confidence in the game and reducing,
perhaps drastically, attendance and TV revenues.
The public interest is enormous. Sports personalities are role models
for all of us, especially youngsters. If the Patriots can cheat, so can
the college teams, so can the high school teams, so can the 6th grader
taking a math examination. The Congress has granted the NFL a most
significant business advantage, an antitrust exemption, highly unusual
in the commercial world. That largesse can continue only if the NFL can
prove itself worthy. Beyond the issues of role models and antitrust,
America has a love affair with sports. Professional football has topped
all other sporting events in fan interest. Americans have a right to be
guaranteed that their favorite sport is honestly competitive.
In an extraordinary time, baseball took extraordinary action in
turning to a man of unimpeachable integrity--Federal Judge Kenesaw
Mountain Landis--to act forcefully and decisively to save professional
baseball from the Black Sox scandal in 1919.
On this state of the record, an objective, thorough, transparent
investigation is necessary. If the NFL does not initiate an inquiry
like the investigation conducted by former Senator George Mitchell for
baseball, it will be up to Congress to get the facts and take
corrective action.
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