Florio on Spygate again - New England Patriots Forums

BPF · 02-26-2008, 10:29 AM

Some good points that the "real" media continues to ignore.

www.profootballtalk.com

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POSTED 11:20 p.m. EST, February 26, 2008
SPYGATE II STILL LURKING

It's been a couple of days since there have been any new statements or developments relevant to the Spygate II drama, but the story isn't going away. As Peter King pointed out in his MMQB column, the story will linger until Matt Walsh talks.

But one of the wrinkles in all of this that has been virtually ignored by the "real" media is that there's a clear dispute over a key credibility point in this matter.

Walsh initially told the New York Times that a confidentiality agreement signed by Walsh prevented him from getting into any of the details. Recently, ESPN.com buried in a largely unrelated item a contention from the Pats that there is no such agreement.

Since then, there has been no further comment or examination of this issue. We sent an e-mail to Walsh's lawyer, Michael Levy, but he has not responded. (He also hasn't responded to an e-mail from us inquiring regarding the process that led to an assistant golf pro in Hawaii being represented by the head of the White Collar/Investigations and Enforcement group at a high-powered D.C. firm.)

We'd like to think that the folks to whom Levy has fed sound bites will ask these same questions.

If Walsh doesn't have a confidentiality agreement, nothing prevents him from talking -- other than his desire to leverage his willingness to talk into a "get out of jail free" card as to the question of whether he stole property from the team, taped conversations in violation of Massachusetts law, and/or will be defaming the Patriots if he says things that aren't true to Arlen Specter or 60 Minutes.

Speaking of defamation, King also raises the possibility that the Patriots will sue the Boston Herald for its February 2 item proclaiming that the Patriots taped the Rams' final walk-through practice prior to Super Bowl XXXVI. That report has triggered the storm that has been raging around the franchise, and directly led to the class-action lawsuit that the team is facing in New Orleans.

Indeed, the lawyer who is handling that case has made it clear that the action will be seriously damaged if it turns out that the walk-through practice wasn't taped. (You can listen to a radio interview during which the lawyer makes the concession right here.)

The team's challenge in that regard will be to satisfy the higher standard that applies to defamation claims brought by public figures. Specifically, the Pats would be required to prove that the Herald proceeded with actual malice or that the Herald acted with reckless disregard as to the truth.

Though it might be hard to show malice, the Patriots could get to a Massachusetts jury as to the issue of "reckless disregard." We can't clearly recall whether the Herald got a statement from the Pats before running the story (and we're not inclined to now pay for access to the original Herald story, which is now archived). Our general recollection is the Herald proceeded with only one side of the situation, which is always risk for such an inflammatory story.

Also, there is some scuttlebutt that Walsh, who is believed to have been the source for the Herald story, has since backed off the contention that the practice was actually videotaped.

It's another reason, as we see it, for the Patriots to want to know what Walsh knows, and to get whatever tapes or other materials that he has. If there wasn't cheating at Super Bowl XXXVI, the Pats should have nothing to fear.

PonyExpress · 02-26-2008, 10:38 AM

Florio is a cunning devil. He was the one who took the Herald blurb and blew it up into forestorm. He was the one the morning of the Sb who claimed it was worse than the Black Sox scandal. He was the one who nurtured this bullcrap with poison over and over again. But as a lawyer it has begun to dawn on him he may have overstepped himself, and so he has posted a few obligatory pro pats posts, long after the damage has been done, to cover his tracks in the event of a lawsuit against him. I hope the Pats do sue his @$$. Maybe "Bradshaw is dead" stories won't be posted in the future on his shi tty website.

BrianPat · 02-26-2008, 10:42 AM

Thanks for posting, any rumor/opinion/news like this helps me equal out all the bad rumors/opinions/news I generally hear !

BPF · 02-26-2008, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PonyExpress

Florio is a cunning devil. He was the one who took the Herald blurb and blew it up into forestorm. He was the one the morning of the Sb who claimed it was worse than the Black Sox scandal. He was the one who nurtured this bullcrap with poison over and over again. But as a lawyer it has begun to dawn on him he may have overstepped himself, and so he has posted a few obligatory pro pats posts, long after the damage has been done, to cover his tracks in the event of a lawsuit against him. I hope the Pats do sue his @$$. Maybe "Bradshaw is dead" stories won't be posted in the future on his shi tty website.

I agree with most of what you say but at this time he is the only one making these important points.

***fgssand*** · 02-26-2008, 10:47 AM

Amazing that Mike Florio is the one to champion this cause.

All we ever wanted was the truth....good luck www.profootball.com.

You have a lot of folks against you any many that are watching closely, such as sports illustrated, ESPN, a cable giant (comcast) and their bought and paid for Senator (the Honorable Arlen Spector). Throw in the NFL Network, the NFL, the Patriots, the old guard NFL owners trying to stop the Patriots any way they can, a ahem rag disguised as a newspaper (Herald) and on and on.

Keep it up Mike and don't let them get to you....

BPF · 02-26-2008, 10:49 AM

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Originally Posted by BrianPat

Thanks for posting, any rumor/opinion/news like this helps me equal out all the bad rumors/opinions/news I generally hear !

This part is not a rumor or opinion:

Quote:

"Since then, there has been no further comment or examination of this issue. We sent an e-mail to Walsh's lawyer, Michael Levy, but he has not responded. (He also hasn't responded to an e-mail from us inquiring regarding the process that led to an assistant golf pro in Hawaii being represented by the head of the White Collar/Investigations and Enforcement group at a high-powered D.C. firm.)"

If there is no confidentiality agreement, why hasn't Walsh stepped forward and why did his people initially say there was one in place? I think this guy has nothing new that will damage the Patriots and is using this opportunity to get imdemnification so that he can actually make some money from his thefts.

BadMoFo · 02-26-2008, 10:56 AM

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Originally Posted by fgssand

Amazing that Mike Florio is the one to champion this cause.

All we ever wanted was the truth....good luck www.profootball.com.

You have a lot of folks against you any many that are watching closely, such as sports illustrated, ESPN, a cable giant (comcast) and their bought and paid for Senator (the Honorable Arlen Spector). Throw in the NFL Network, the NFL, the Patriots, the old guard NFL owners trying to stop the Patriots any way they can, a ahem rag disguised as a newspaper (Herald) and on and on.

Keep it up Mike and don't let them get to you....

What's with the link to the fantasy football site? Don't you mean profootballtalk.com?

***MoLewisrocks*** · 02-26-2008, 11:03 AM

Florio is cunning in that he built quite the lucrative business up by second hand rumor mongering which basically gave him impunity when it comes to facing any repurcussions. In the last year he has begun to spew some rumors and opinion of his own, on his site and on radio gigs the site has helped him develop, and that has a little more potential for repurcussions. But what he's doing now is just reading tea leaves and repositioning himself on the fence to say he was not personally bamboozled in this instance like the mainstream media he has a love/hate relationship with. Tough to wear all the hats Florio tries to juggle as sports mediot, supposedly practicing lawyer, mainstream media critic, mainstream media wannabe, defender of the game, law and order scorekeeper, fanboy, football expert, enviably connected, etc. without looking like a total fool at least half the time unless you periodically ride the fence on all of the above.

***fgssand*** · 02-26-2008, 11:05 AM

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Originally Posted by BadMoFo

What's with the link to the fantasy football site? Don't you mean profootballtalk.com?

Yupper -I stand corrected.

Plus, I appreciate what Pony & Mo have pointed out. While he may be a wolf in sheeps clothing, getting at the truth is all that matters - any way possible.

I want to be vindicated.....I accept the rule violation & penalty imposed, understood. However, everything that followed is truly amazing. Even Stephen King or Richard Bachman could not have spun such a tale of BS.

***Deus Irae*** · 02-26-2008, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fgssand

Amazing that Mike Florio is the one to champion this cause.

All we ever wanted was the truth....good luck www.profootball.com.

You have a lot of folks against you any many that are watching closely, such as sports illustrated, ESPN, a cable giant (comcast) and their bought and paid for Senator (the Honorable Arlen Spector). Throw in the NFL Network, the NFL, the Patriots, the old guard NFL owners trying to stop the Patriots any way they can, a ahem rag disguised as a newspaper (Herald) and on and on.

Keep it up Mike and don't let them get to you....

Florio was, and continues to be, a huge part of the problem. He had a nice rumor & info site going, but he decided to turn it into his own personal blog/message board and hand down his opinion of everything NFL. He opened his electronic 'mouth' about things when he knew almost nothing about the situation and helped fan the flames, all for the greater good of increased web traffic.

To give him some credit, though, at least he points out the hypocrisy of the league and Commissioner Clouseau when it comes to free agent tampering and the lack of punishment for violating that rule, even if he's not explicitly connecting the two situations.