Loser No. 1: The mainstream media
The mainstream media handled this story in typical fashion, its agenda-ridden prose and "punditry" compounded by a passion for sensationalizing non-existent stories and a bloodlust for personal destruction.
.... with media vultures using it to tear apart a coach, Bill Belichick, they already despised. ....
But then the Boston Herald went one step further in February, right before the Super Bowl, .... Many newspapers were fed that line leading up to Super Bowl XLII, yet it went unreported until the Herald’s John Tomase ran with it – curiously, just in time to benefit most from the attention that comes with Super Bowl weekend. It was a mistake to run the destructive, uncorroborated story, as the Herald admitted today.
But the veracity of the story was irrelevant: the fabrication was out in the public, and the media ate it up voraciously. ....
Now, the Herald’s reputation lay in tatters and they are a laughing-stock in the eyes of many sports fans, reduced today to practically begging the Patriots for forgiveness. (Disclosure: CHFF's publisher also works part-time for The Boston Herald.)
But the Herald is not alone in their humiliation. Sure, they lit the match of the "Patriots taped the Rams" falsification. But the rest of the media eagerly poured gas into the fire with wild speculation for more than three months ... even though they knew that the spying, as practiced by the Patriots, was nothing new. In fact, it was quite common.
Several old-time coaches came forward in the wake of Spygate and admitted many of their own ‘violations.’ Yet the Patriots and Belichick continued to be singled out for their indiscretion, long after paying an unprecedented penalty for their violations.
....
Still, the mainstream media never let the facts get in the way of a good story. And today they look like jokers after three months of reckless speculation about a manufactured story. As the Cold, Hard Football Facts noted yesterday, Tony Kornheiser of ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" summed it up best when he said that "foaming at the mouth" is what the media does best.
Loser No. 2: Sen. Arlen Specter
Is this guy a joke, or what? The Pennsylvania senator jumped on the sensationalized “Patriots taped the Rams!!” bandwagon – purely for the interest of the fans and the integrity of the league, of course.
But he ends up as big a loser as anybody. As sports fans discovered soon after he opened his mouth, Specter's interests in Comcast and its conflicts with the NFL hardly make him an objective figure in the case. .... Hey, who cares if Chinese spies are stealing U.S. military secrets at this very moment, the Patriots might have taped a Rams practice six years ago and we need answers!
Of course, Specter's quest for justice might have ended yesterday: when Walsh's meeting with the NFL turned into the biggest non-story since "dog bites man," the Senator met with the Walsh but delayed his own de-briefing press conference, presumably to wash the ostrich-sized egg off his face.
Loser No. 3: Roger Goodell
The Gridiron Godfather ... quickly earned his iron-handed reputation by whacking one member of the NFL family after another, ordering them to toe the party line, or else.
He certainly laid down the law during Spygate, issuing the Patriots unprecedented penalties. But he also blundered repeatedly.
Goodell had the chance to clear up any confusion over both the contents of the tapes New England submitted to the NFL back in September and the seriousness of the alleged crime that the Patriots had committed.
He did neither.
First, back in September, footage from one of New England’s tapes submitted to Goodell’s office were leaked to Fox and shown on national television. Not only was the video fairly innocuous, the leak undermined Goodell’s position of authority and the league’s position of responsibility.
Second, in a seemingly knee-jerk reaction to the security leak, Goodell ordered the destruction of all the tapes and notes submitted by the Patriots after just 12 days of investigation. The decision only whipped up the conspiracy theorists and the Patriots haters and – whether true or not – it reeked of a cover-up.
Third, Goodell insisted that the Patriots derived little benefit from the contents of the tapes. Yet then he imposed the harshest penalty the league had ever issued – a $250,000 fine for the Patriots, a $500,000 personal fine for Belichick and the loss of a first-round draft pick which could be a long-term, strategic detriment to the team.
Basically, Goodell contradicted himself and gave both sides of the issue valid grounds to question the punishment he imposed.
.... a recent poll shows that a vast majority of football fans believe the commissioner fumbled when it came time to handle the Spygate controversy.
Loser No. 4: Matt Walsh
....
But there is one final victim-and-villain whose carcass lies at the bottom of this tangled mess ...
Loser No. 5: Bill Belichick and the Patriots
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