Feb 15, 2008 6:00 pm US/Pacific
Ex-Player Seeks $100M For Alleged Patriots Taping
BOSTON (CBS) ―
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Bill Belichick watches from the sidelines in the second quarter against the New York Giants during Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
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They couldn't win on the field, so now they'll try to win in court.
A
lawsuit filed Friday by a former St. Louis Rams player and others seeks
millions of dollars in damages from the alleged taping of a Rams
practice by the New England Patriots before the 2002 Super Bowl.
The Patriots won the game 20-17 in the Superdome.
The
$100 million suit was filed on behalf of former Rams player Willie
Gary, a pair of 2002 Super Bowl ticket holders, and a Rams seat license
holder in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. It names the Patriots,
team owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick.
The
group claims Belichick and the Patriots defrauded Rams players and fans
when they allegedly videotaped the Rams practice the day before the
game.
The lawsuit alleges, "The defendants fraudulently
videotaped the Saint Louis Rams walk through prior to the 2002 Super
Bowl for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage in the game."
The
suit claims the Patriots are responsible for six counts of crimes,
including fraud, racketeering and breach of contract and
alleges the taping robbed the Rams and their fans of millions of
dollars.
The Patriots have denied the videotaping
accusations. When contacted Friday, the team said, "We saw the press
release, but we don't comment on these types of things."
CBS station WBZ-TV in Boston
spoke with a prominent local attorney who said the case is without
merit, and the lawyer who filed the suit could face sanctions for
filing a frivolous lawsuit.
This isn't the first big
lawsuit filed against the Patriots. A New York Jets fan sued the team
for $184 million for illegally videotaping the Jets at the start of
last season.
Sen. Arlen Specter said Wednesday that Bill Belichick has been illegally taping opponents' defensive signals
since he became the New England Patriots' coach in 2000. He claimed NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told him
that during a meeting Wednesday.
"There was confirmation that there has been taping since 2000, when Coach Belichick took over," Specter said.
Specter
said Goodell gave him that information during the 1-hour, 40-minute
meeting, which was requested by Specter so the commissioner could
explain his reasons for destroying the Spygate tapes and notes.
"There
were a great many questions answered by Commissioner Goodell," Specter,
the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters
after the meeting. "I found a lot of questions unanswerable because of
the tapes and notes had been destroyed."
Goodell said Belichick told him he believed the taping was legal; Goodell said he did not concur.
"He
said that's always been his interpretation since he's been the head
coach," the commissioner said. "We are going to agree to disagree on
the facts."
Specter, from Pennsylvania, wants to talk to other
league officials about what exactly was taped and which games may have
been compromised.
"We have a right to have honest football games," he said.
Goodell noted that "we were the ones that disclosed" the Patriots'
illegal taping of the New York Jets' defensive signals in Week 1 of
last season. Further, Goodell said, they had an admission by Belichick.
"I have nothing to hide," Goodell said.
Goodell also told Specter that that he doesn't regret destroying the Spygate tapes or the notes.
"I think it was the right thing to do," Goodell said.
Still,
Specter wants to know why penalties were imposed on Belichick before
the full extent of the wrongdoing was known and the tapes destroyed in
a two-week span. Asked if he thinks there was a coverup, Specter
demurred.
"There was an enormous amount of haste," Specter said.
He
scoffed at the reasons Goodell gave for destroying the tapes and notes,
particularly about trying to keep them out of competitors' hands and
because Belichick had admitted to the taping.
"What's that got
to do with it? There's an admission of guilt, you preserve the
evidence," Specter said. As for keeping the tapes out of the hands of
others: "All you have to do is lock up the tapes."
Belichick was
fined $500,000 and the team was fined $250,000 because of the Spygate
incident. The Patriots also forfeited a first-round draft pick.
Specter
has questioned the quality of the NFL's investigation into the matter
and raised the possibility of congressional hearings if he wasn't
satisfied with Goodell's answers. Specter also raised the threat of
Congress canceling the league's antitrust exemption and reiterated that
in the meeting with Goodell.
Goodell also said he has not heard
from Matt Walsh, the former Patriots employee who performed some
videotaping duties for the team.
Walsh told The Associated Press
last week during the Pro Bowl in Hawaii that he couldn't talk about
allegations that he taped a walkthrough practice by the St. Louis Rams
before the 2002 Super Bowl. New England, a two-touchdown underdog, won
that game 20-17.
Goodell said he has offered Walsh a deal
whereby "he has to tell the truth and he has to return anything he took
improperly" in return for indemnity. Specter said he, too, wanted to
talk to Walsh and perhaps offer a different deal.
Goodell also said he reserves the right to reopen the investigation if more information is uncovered.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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