One important detail omitted, however, is that not every tape was destroyed. The idea that nobody knows exactly what was on the tapes keeps the Patriots boogie man alive, well, and hiding under the NFL's bed. Among those opining on this failure to give the league closure was ESPN analyst and former Colts president Bill Polian.
"I wish the evidence had not been destroyed because at least we would know what had been done," Polian told the reporters.
However, at the 2008 NFL owner's meetings, which served as the backdrop on which the reporters begin their narrative, video tapes of sideline signals taken by the Patriots were screened for NFL owners, executives, general managers, head coaches and media. Those tapes, I was told this morning, belonged to Matt Walsh, one of the Patriots employees who did some videotaping. Included on the tapes, in addition to shots of the scoreboard and the opposing sidelines, was video of cheerleaders shaking their buttocks, and one opposing coach waving to the camera.
The actual video is far from sinister. Additionally, it wasn't until a 2006 memo was put out by the league that anything in writing regarding sideline videotaping was specifically addressed.
