Did Pats media mishandle of Spygate bring out Moss today?

[RhodyPatriot]

I have a theory on why a usually media shy Patriot organization gave a big thumbs up to Randy Moss addressing the media about these allegations of battery.
Think the Patriots felt they were burned and burned bigtime by not talking to the media in the days following that Jet game when the whole sideline taping thing happened. Their silence allowed the media to take that story and turn it into something totally overboard, ridiculous and out of context and by that time it was too late for the Pats or BB to sit down and give their side of the story. Because there was a huge vacuum of non-info/response from BB and the Pats the media took a jaywalking infraction and turned it into Spygate.
I think the Patriots learned their lesson after that media lynching and will now be much more pro-active to address these things at the very beginning of these situations.
Honestly think the Patriots being treated so unfairly by the media after Spygate lead to them getting ahead of the Moss story today.

 

[ShrewBeer]

i think they just let moss do what he felt was right.

bill will never talk with the media about anything unless he is required to. he tried sparring with them in cleveland, and he said that he will never do it again. thats why he gave you no info on spygate, because it would only lead to more bullcrap for the media to spin

 

[FFDan]

Could be a possibilty. But I still don't think they will talk about anything that will give another team the slightest edge. I think the absolute no information thing just makes people hungry for anything, that anything gets blown out of proportion is essence, a misinformation campaign on the other team.

Call me drinking the kool-aid, but sometimes when they Pats lose, I think it's because it is in BB's plan. Seriously

 

[smyoung]

To be honest, I don't think Bill Belichick/Stacey James/the Pats had any idea that Randy would do what he did today. When the media crowd walked into the locker room, he called over the cameras and microphones to his locker; generally, reporters approach him during the week and he ends up turning us down. It caught the public relations guys off-guard, and they seemed to understand that Randy simply had something he needed to get off his chest.

smy

 

[NEPat]

To be honest, I don't think Bill Belichick/Stacey James/the Pats had any idea that Randy would do what he did today. When the media crowd walked into the locker room, he called over the cameras and microphones to his locker; generally, reporters approach him during the week and he ends up turning us down. It caught the public relations guys off-guard, and they seemed to understand that Randy simply had something he needed to get off his chest.

Yes, this is like the opposite of how the Pats PR usually works. It seems like the media thought Randy did a good job though, or are at least giving him the benefit of the doubt. You were right there, did he seem believable? Why?

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Shalize, I don't know whether you do this kind of thing or not, or what your access is. But Randy Moss actually seemed to care that fans don't rush to judgment. If you've got access to someone with the team to pass this along, we don't have the right to rush to judgment, we have nothing but one side of the story anyway, and we're 100% behind him. It speaks volumes that he'd even worry about the fans given the circus that's warming up, and the focus he'll have to maintain. He's shown us too much for a flip-flop based on one person's allegation.

PFnV

 

[RhodyPatriot]

To be honest, I don't think Bill Belichick/Stacey James/the Pats had any idea that Randy would do what he did today. When the media crowd walked into the locker room, he called over the cameras and microphones to his locker; generally, reporters approach him during the week and he ends up turning us down. It caught the public relations guys off-guard, and they seemed to understand that Randy simply had something he needed to get off his chest.

smy

Might have caught the PR guys off guard but you're crazy if you think BB had no knowledge of this.

 

[smyoung]

He did seem sincere. I think he knows how things work in that locker room, and that this incident could disrupt the team, which I he doesn't want. I think he truly has worked very hard at just doing his job like every Patriot is asked to do.

Listening to him and reading the transcript (I wasn't there for the whole thing), there are some inconsistencies, but by and large, I believe him and I think he was blindsided by this. His past issues are mostly ones of immaturity and what is being said here does not fit in with his past transgressions.

The one thing that makes me wonder about this is the lack of arrest/warrant/criminal charges, especially since it's Florida. If he did anything violent to her, there wouldn't be just a restraining order, there'd be sheriffs from Broward County at Gillette arresting him. It's not like he's hard to find!

Makes you think about what these guys can go through, though, no? He says he's been friends with this woman for over a decade and she does this?

 

[smyoung]

Might have caught the PR guys off guard but you're crazy if you think BB had no knowledge of this.

I know BB knew about the incident and allegations. I don't think he knew Randy would stand in front of no fewer than 100 reporters, cameras and microphones and plead his case.

I know I'm supposed to be a mediot, but I'm not crazy.

 

[Tunescribe]

He did seem sincere. I think he knows how things work in that locker room, and that this incident could disrupt the team, which I he doesn't want. I think he truly has worked very hard at just doing his job like every Patriot is asked to do.

Listening to him and reading the transcript (I wasn't there for the whole thing), there are some inconsistencies, but by and large, I believe him and I think he was blindsided by this. His past issues are mostly ones of immaturity and what is being said here does not fit in with his past transgressions.

The one thing that makes me wonder about this is the lack of arrest/warrant/criminal charges, especially since it's Florida. If he did anything violent to her, there wouldn't be just a restraining order, there'd be sheriffs from Broward County at Gillette arresting him. It's not like he's hard to find!

Makes you think about what these guys can go through, though, no? He says he's been friends with this woman for over a decade and she does this?

I'm impressed that you're participating in this forum. Are you doing it for fun as a Patriots fan, or looking for story ideas?

 

[NEPat]

Thanks Shalise! I thought he seemed sincere too, and I sure hope he's telling the truth. On the media front, I think he handled this very well and managed to control the story. If there's more coming from this lady though, then it'll get worse, but so far it's been 'no comment' from her side, I believe. I don't think it'll stay that way.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

To be honest, I don't think Bill Belichick/Stacey James/the Pats had any idea that Randy would do what he did today. When the media crowd walked into the locker room, he called over the cameras and microphones to his locker; generally, reporters approach him during the week and he ends up turning us down. It caught the public relations guys off-guard, and they seemed to understand that Randy simply had something he needed to get off his chest.

smy

Actually Paul Perillo was on WEEI today and he had a slightly different version of how the Q & A session came to pass. Apparently after he made his statement he returned to the locker room. Media were in there milling around and leaving him be until they noticed he was doing a one on one with Karen Guregian. Apparently, while the rule is you do not interrupt one on ones out of professional courtesy, competitive jealousies got the better of them and some of them demanded equal access. That led to the impromptu Q & A.

 

[psychoPat]

To be honest, I don't think Bill Belichick/Stacey James/the Pats had any idea that Randy would do what he did today. When the media crowd walked into the locker room, he called over the cameras and microphones to his locker; generally, reporters approach him during the week and he ends up turning us down. It caught the public relations guys off-guard, and they seemed to understand that Randy simply had something he needed to get off his chest.

smy

Your candor on these pages, Ms Manza-Young,
is why ... when i'm staring at one of those "links lineups" ...
your page is often the first one i click to.

 

[smyoung]

I'm impressed that you're participating in this forum. Are you doing it for fun as a Patriots fan, or looking for story ideas?

I read here a lot to see what fans are thinking about/talking about, and occasionally I have been tipped off to something (y'all collectively have more time to look all over the net for stories than I do). I post when I feel like I can contribute something meaningful or give some insight as one of the beat writers.

Unfortunately, the rules of the gig mean I can't really be a "fan," though I must admit that if they go 19-0 it will be pretty cool to say that I got to cover an undefeated team...

 

[IndyKen]

I know BB knew about the incident and allegations. I don't think he knew Randy would stand in front of no fewer than 100 reporters, cameras and microphones and plead his case.

I know I'm supposed to be a mediot, but I'm not crazy.

Shalize, thank you very much for your perspective and input on this and other topics, I much appreciate it....

 

[Tunescribe]

I read here a lot to see what fans are thinking about/talking about, and occasionally I have been tipped off to something (y'all collectively have more time to look all over the net for stories than I do). I post when I feel like I can contribute something meaningful or give some insight as one of the beat writers.

Unfortunately, the rules of the gig mean I can't really be a "fan," though I must admit that if they go 19-0 it will be pretty cool to say that I got to cover an undefeated team...

You can be a fan on a personal level, just can't be obvious about it. It's kind of an odd thing. I used to be a sportswriter years ago; did some coverage of the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, and even had a stint as copy editor for Patriots Football Weekly. Being close to inner goings-on was very cool, but I love being a passionate fan even more.

 

[MassPats38]

Moss has a quirky personality, but he is no idiot. The public knows a person falsely accused will show outrage and attempt to clear his/her name. That is the path Moss took. If he was contacted and asked to settle quietly to avoid a false accusation going public, a reasonable person will use all legal means to strike the accuser down. If he tries to keep the situation private or shows extreme outrage (you can protest too much, giving the appearance of a staged outrage), then the public will likely believe he is guilty.

This legal situation will likely be he said/she said. While he may win the legal battle, he can still walk away from the lawsuit with reputation damage - damage he is trying to fix with the Patriots.

Spygate was a different animal. I would venture a guess that to clear the air of that violation would require open access to all team practices. The team's success and the failure of prior staff to duplicate that success appears to be based on a "need to know" system in which every piece knows something of the system but only he knows the whole system. It would not be enough to simply say "we did not use the tapes for the same game", the media would ask detail as to practices. Those details may start to reveal interelations and information practices unique to the team and provide greater insight to how the team works as a whole. In the end, Belichick would rather apologize to his boss, the team and the fans and deal with the hatred as he has never been one to love the media or vice versa. He may have hoped that the intelligent football fan would understand accepted spying practices and could discern little to no competitive advantage could be gained from taping, but that was setting the bar a little too high.

 

[shmessy]

I read here a lot to see what fans are thinking about/talking about, and occasionally I have been tipped off to something (y'all collectively have more time to look all over the net for stories than I do). I post when I feel like I can contribute something meaningful or give some insight as one of the beat writers.

Unfortunately, the rules of the gig mean I can't really be a "fan," though I must admit that if they go 19-0 it will be pretty cool to say that I got to cover an undefeated team...

Shalise, you rock. Keep up the great work - - you're one of the best reads and a worthy successor to Tom Curran.

One of the odd and suspicious aspects of the story is how it went down from that Florida radio station and Rozzie Franco. She seemed to intimate on EEI this morning that she was tipped off BEFORE the restraining order was filed. Her own station's website posted, pulled, posted again, pulled again and, finally reposted the story.

Combine this with Moss' story regarding the shakedown tactics and the "representative" confronting him on Friday in Foxboro and one can almost see a VERY concerted campaign of very rough tactics.

 

[drink]

Well the way i see it the media will be all over randy the next 3 weeks which is really unfair,Now all this spygate crap will appear again,your team rocks,im glad randy did bring it out,i believe him and hope he gets payback on that *****,And in Wisconsin we are cheering for you guys to kick the chargers butt,and hope we beat the giants we wanna play the BEST and thats the Pats,hope to see you in the SB,GOOD LUCK FROM A CHEESE HEAD

 

[smyoung]

Shalise, you rock. Keep up the great work - - you're one of the best reads and a worthy successor to Tom Curran.

One of the odd and suspicious aspects of the story is how it went down from that Florida radio station and Rozzie Franco. She seemed to intimate on EEI this morning that she was tipped off BEFORE the restraining order was filed. Her own station's website posted, pulled, posted again, pulled again and, finally reposted the story.

Combine this with Moss' story regarding the shakedown tactics and the "representative" confronting him on Friday in Foxboro and one can almost see a VERY concerted campaign of very rough tactics.

Shmessy - I listened to that mess on the EEI website this afternoon. It was some of the most painful listening on that station in quite some time and it didn't seem like she added anything to the story.

In my opinion, this situation is really fishy. I haven't seen the entire affidavit -- I paid for the full court report on the Broward County Clerk's site, but there was no real information there. There's wasn't even a date given for when the alleged incident occurred. And the document shown on the radio station's website doesn't have any information on it that anyone with internet access couldn't get.

As I said before, if he had truly been physical with her, and especially since it was in Florida, there is no way this would simply be a restraining order.