So I just spent an hour writing to this idiot...I don't know why I do these things, I think it's therapeutic:
Mr. Massarotti,
Since it appears as though you’re hanging your hat on the most recent walkthrough revelation, let me just point something out to you—something that Specter conveniently forgot to mention: Walsh and the other two ‘spies’ were wearing Patriots gear, setting up their electronics, while this ‘covert operation’ was taking place. Now, if you are like me and you believe Jimmy Johnson (I’m not going to post his comments about taping; if you haven’t read them then you’re the one who isn’t informed) then you’re of the mind that spying, taping, and trying to one-up your opponent off the field has been going on as long as this game has been around. Are you trying to tell me that Rams employees, put in the same situation, would be told to look the other way?
I find this entire mess to be wholly ridiculous, a witch hunt against the best team in the NFL. Please do some serious reading regarding the actual rule, the memo restating the rule (which was sent in 2006, but members of the media always seem to forget that little nugget when writing about it), the fact that the Dolphins were found to have audio—snap-count audio of Brady, which was never provided to teams—inked to their video of the Patriots in 2006, that the Jets were found to have a cameraman taping without the required ‘camera covered on three sides’ during a Patriots game in 2006, and the fact that the ONLY team investigated during all of this has been the Patriots.
Regarding that rule I just spoke of…if you haven’t read it, here it is: “Any use by any club at any time, from the start to the finish of any game in which such club is a participant, of any communications or information-gathering equipment, other than Polaroid-type cameras or field telephones, shall be prohibited, including without limitation videotape machines, telephone tapping, or bugging devices, or any other form of electronic devices that might aid a team during the playing of a game.”
--Place yourself as an impartial, unbiased observer…now read that quote again and tell me that it couldn’t be misinterpreted as ‘filming for the purpose of using said film during the game being played’. I’m not saying that’s what it reads, I’m saying that it could easily be interpreted in that fashion. Now take just one leap from there…this was Goodell’s first major on-field, rules act as commissioner. It was a known fact that he wanted to rule the league with an iron fist, to eliminate the bad publicity that had escalated and peaked with the Michael Vick trial. Any chance he wanted to send a message to the owners of the league?
You know better than I that Belichick—put his arrogance, his dislike of the media, etc, aside—is an obsessively prepared individual, that he leaves no stone unturned. Do you really think that in the 21st Century, with the technology available this day and age, with the money that he has access to…do you really think that he’d take a handheld camera, place someone in Patriots apparel, go into the stadium of his biggest professional adversary, and film from about 40 yards away knowing full well that he was breaking a major league rule? Honestly?
You can call us Patriots fans whatever you’d like (though you’re not making yourself many friends in the region, I can guarantee you that), and your opinion is just that; your opinion. But please know that there is a large percentage of Patriots fans who have actually read through all this (from Goodell’s former employment with the Jets, to Specter’s involvement with Comcast—he has $153,600 reasons to create a headache with the NFL courtesy of Comcast—to the actual rules infraction, to past precedence established regarding rules violations including but not limited to the Broncos salary cap violation and the Dolphins tampering violation with Don Shula). You may call us ‘yahoos, hero-worshipers, and gutless suck-ups’ (though it’s both offensive and less than poetic for someone who actually gets paid for that drivel), but just know that we’re also informed.
Ray
