Offiicial Goodhell Watch Thread

[Stranger]

The purpose of this thread is to post and discuss items related to Goodhell's ultimate demise and replacement.

 

[MarkMyWords]

Pretty likely now that he broke up with his boyfriend Kraft.......

 

[snackdaddy]

Maybe he'll take out Brady after he's been banned from the NFL.

 

[den-the-coach]

Mark Murphy Green Bay Packers.....To replace Bert Bell they went with Pete Rozelle who was running the Los Angeles Rams...Murphy's a former player with an excellent reputation, he would be a home run in so many ways and like Warren G. Harding, Murphy looks the part~

 

[Stranger]

Mark Murphy Green Bay Packers.....To replace Bert Bell they went with Pete Rozelle who was running the Los Angeles Rams...Murphy's a former player with an excellent reputation, he would be a home run in so many ways and like Warren G. Harding, Murphy looks the part~

Really excellent point, den - they'll probably want to go with someone who has been a former player and who is trusted by the players, and can see their point of view. There's been far too much division with Goodhell in there... too much focus on concentration of power. Putting a politician's kid in there was ultimately going to be devicive.

Here's Mark's bio..

Mark Murphy, possessor of extensive experience in professional football and sports administration, is in his eighth year as the Packers’ President and CEO.

Under Murphy’s guidance, the organization continues to rank as one of the NFL’s premier franchises, with highly successful operations both on and off the field. On the field, the team has compiled a 79-43-1 overall record (.646), made six straight playoff trips, including a franchise-record four consecutive division titles, and earned a victory in Super Bowl XLV. Off the field, the club continues to perform well in its business efforts, which allows the organization to support football operations. The fan experience at Lambeau Field, a top priority for the organization, continues to be ranked among the best in sports.

It was a direction both Murphy and the organization envisioned when Murphy was elected by the Packers’ Board of Directors as the franchise’s 10th Chief Executive Officer on Dec. 3, 2007. He began his work with the organization as president-elect on Jan. 1, 2008, and then formally took over on Jan. 28, 2008.

“I am honored to have been selected and very appreciative of this tremendous opportunity,” Murphy said the day of his election. “The Packers are one of the great franchises in all of professional sports, with a rich history and incredible fan support. These are successful times for the Packers. On the field they’re performing well, and off the field, they’re in great shape, too. I look forward to being a part of that continued success.”

Murphy, who holds a law degree and an MBA in finance, brought a unique and highly qualified background to his role as head of one of the NFL’s flagship franchises, first drawing from a deep understanding and appreciation of the game that comes from an eight-year playing career with the Washington Redskins. Later, he served a combined 16 years as director of athletics at Colgate University and Northwestern University, and was an assistant executive director of the NFL Players Association and a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice.

In addition to his playing career and work with the NFL Players Association, Murphy had maintained his ties to the NFL through his work on the Commissioner’s Player Advisory Committee (1994-2002) as well as the NFL Youth Football Committee (2002-2011). Additionally, his NFL experience includes Super Bowl wins as a player (XVII, 1982) and as a CEO (XLV, 2010), believed to be the first such achievement in league history.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, recognizing the unique experience and skills Murphy brought to the NFL as the Packers’ CEO, in 2008 appointed him to the NFL’s Management Council Executive Committee, the NFL owners’ committee whose responsibility was to serve as the bargaining team during negotiations with the NFL Players Association which resulted in a new, 10-year Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2011. The position has allowed Murphy to increase his involvement and contributions at the league level, ensuring the organization has a voice in NFL matters.

“Mark’s rare blend of experiences makes him integral to the future of the Packers and the NFL,” said Goodell when appointing Murphy. “His accomplishments as an NFL player, his work with the NFLPA, and now his leadership of the Packers, provide a unique perspective to the league and also to the players. He’s very effective in discussions with NFLPA executives. Mark is a bright and thoughtful individual who understands what needs to get done to create a system that benefits all sides for years to come. He is very reasonable and wants what’s best for fans, the game and players, as we all do.”

In 2012, Goodell added to Murphy’s NFL-level involvement by naming him to the important Competition Committee, the group composed of team executives and coaches that studies all aspects of the game and recommends rules and policy changes to NFL clubs. Goodell also placed Murphy on the NFL owners’ Health and Safety Committee.

Upon joining the Packers, Murphy broadened his knowledge of the franchise, its operations and its standing in the community by meeting with employees, shareholders, fans and members of the Board of Directors, as well as many community groups.

Among his first initiatives was to update the organization’s strategic plan, a process involving all the leadership positions of the organization, including the Executive Committee and football operations. The process created core objectives to serve as a backdrop for all key business decisions. In a move to enhance those objectives, Murphy restructured the management of the organization, which included creating a new senior-leadership staff overseeing administration and finance, football operations, human resources, legal, marketing and fan engagement, and sales and corporate partnerships. The structure reflects the growth the organization has experienced in recent years and gives broader coverage across all operations with more people involved on a senior-management level.

Murphy also is directing the organization’s master plan involving Lambeau Field, the Lambeau Field Atrium, the practice facilities, and property the organization owns adjacent to the stadium. Lambeau Field and the Atrium recently underwent a $312 million, five-year expansion and renovation that included a new distributed-audio sound system (2011), two new HD video boards and the new Bellin Health Gate on the north end of the stadium (2012), 7,000 additional seats in the south end zone served by the Shopko Gate (2013), a larger Oneida Nation Gate and new football facilities (2013), the American Family Insurance Gate, a redeveloped Harlan Plaza and new Packers Pro Shop (2014), and a new Packers Hall of Fame and restaurant, 1919 Kitchen & Tap (2015).

To support the Lambeau Field project, Murphy directed the Packers’ fifth stock sale, an effort that netted the organization more than $64 million. More than 268,000 shares were sold during the offering, from Dec. 6, 2011, through Feb. 29, 2012, with more than 250,000 new shareholders joining the Packers’ ownership. All stadium improvements were financed without public tax money.

In 2015, the Packers announced plans for a new development to the west of Lambeau Field with a first phase that will be comprised of many elements, including an engaging public plaza. Unique to the area, the development will build upon the success of the renovated Lambeau Field, greatly complement the vibrant business and hospitality clusters throughout the greater Green Bay area that have experienced enhancement in recent years, and serve as a further attraction for visitors and residents alike.

Among the other initiatives Murphy has directed is the enhancement of the organization’s retail operations, including the purchase of a new warehouse for the Packers Pro Shop and the establishment of a customer relationship management (CRM) program, with both efforts upgrading customer service to Packers fans.

Murphy also has worked to increase the number of outside events utilizing Lambeau Field, including Kenny Chesney concerts in 2011 and 2015, and LZ Lambeau in May 2010, a welcome back for Wisconsin Vietnam veterans. In September 2016, Lambeau Field will host a college football game for the first time since 1981, when the Wisconsin Badgers play the LSU Tigers. Additionally in the community, Murphy has ensured the organization remains a strong community partner, with a charity impact of more than $6 million in the past year.

Inside the organization, Murphy continues to grow and develop the team’s human resources, with new programs for employees such as leadership development.

The 60-year-old Murphy joined the Packers after 4½ years (2003-07) as director of athletics at Northwestern University. At the Big Ten Conference school, Murphy oversaw a 19-sport program with a $40 million budget and 160 full-time employees. During his tenure, the school won eight individual national championships and three NCAA team titles. Additionally, the university won nine conference team championships and 34 individual Big Ten titles. A total of 49 Wildcats earned first-team All-America distinction. On the football field, the Wildcats participated in two bowl games during Murphy’s tenure after playing in just four previous such contests in the program’s history. In 2006-07, Northwestern finished 30th in the U.S. Sports Academy Directors’ Cup standings with a school-best 626.5 points. The Wildcats ranked among the top 30 in the standings for the last three years of Murphy’s tenure and in 2007 finished sixth among Big Ten schools for the third straight year after previously not placing higher than ninth.

The school’s athletic success under Murphy was achieved while its student-athletes continued to excel off the field. The NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) data released in October 2007 reported Northwestern’s rate at 98 percent, tying it with Notre Dame and Navy for tops in the nation.

Prior to his tenure at Northwestern, Murphy served as director of athletics at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y. (1992-2003), the school from which he graduated in 1977. During his 11 years at the helm, the university experienced a renaissance of its football program, going from 0-11 in 1995 to three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. In 2003, the year after Murphy’s departure to Northwestern, the team made it to the championship game; the achievement of that squad – a non-scholarship program – remains one of Murphy’s proudest moments.

Colgate’s other teams experienced success as well, with men’s basketball, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, women’s softball and men’s ice hockey teams making NCAA Tournament appearances. The school also achieved graduation rates among the highest for student-athletes in Division I during Murphy’s tenure. A proud alum, Murphy had the honor of delivering the address for the university’s 2012 graduation ceremony.

A former All-Pro safety for the Washington Redskins, Murphy enjoyed an eight-year career (1977-84) after originally signing with the team as a non-drafted free agent in 1977. He was a co-captain from 1980-84, a period that included two Super Bowl teams (1982-83). He enjoyed his finest season in 1983, leading the NFL with nine interceptions and earning consensus All-Pro honors as well as a trip to the Pro Bowl. Murphy was named as one of the Redskins’ “70 Greatest Players,” as well as one of the “80 Greatest Redskins,” and also is a member of the club’s 50th Anniversary Team.

Joe Gibbs, the Hall of Fame former coach of the Redskins who led the team during Murphy’s 1981-84 seasons, was appreciative of the player’s contributions and lauded the Packers’ hiring of Murphy.

“Mark meant a lot to the Redskins organization the years he was here and played,” Gibbs said. “He was a great person along with being one of the brightest and most competitive people we’ve had here at the Redskins.”

Gibbs had an influence on Murphy as well, as the Packers’ CEO attributes much of his leadership style to what he learned from the successful Redskins coach.

“He had many leadership traits that I admired and tried to incorporate into my own leadership style,” said Murphy. “He had a very natural way about him with the way he related to people, and he tried to be accessible. He was a very effective communicator, too, as most great leaders are. And when he worked with you, he was very fair and sincere. All those skills and traits fueled his awesome ability to motivate his teams.”

A natural leader among his teammates, Murphy served as the Redskins’ player representative to the NFL Players Association from 1980-84, including the position of vice president of the players union (1983-84). While a representative, he served on the players’ bargaining committee during the 1982 players’ strike. Those experiences have served him well in his role on the NFL’s Management Council Executive Committee.

During his days with the Redskins, Murphy earned an MBA in finance from American University in Washington, D.C., attending classes full-time in the offseason and evening classes in-season. Upon completion of his playing career in 1985, he joined the NFL Players Association as assistant executive director. While with the NFLPA, Murphy served on the bargaining team, including during the 1987 players’ strike, developed the agent-certification system and strengthened the PA’s degree-completion and career-counseling programs.

While with the NFLPA, he started work on a law degree from Georgetown University and ultimately finished his studies full-time after leaving the Players Association. Upon receiving his law degree in 1988, he worked at a Washington, D.C., law firm (Bredhoff and Kaiser) before becoming a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in 1989.

During a four-year career with the Department of Justice, he primarily represented government agencies in trials. Then, in 1992, his alma mater called and he returned to the sports realm.

At ease in public settings and with the media, Murphy enjoyed hosting a weekly radio show during his playing days and later became a sports commentator for National Public Radio (1983-92) and the Anheuser-Busch Radio Network (1986-88), offering his insights into football and sports-related legal issues in general.

Born July 13, 1955, in Fulton, N.Y., Murphy spent some of his formative years in the Houston area before moving back to the Buffalo-area community of Clarence. He was a three-sport star (football, baseball and basketball) at Clarence Central High School and was named the best all-around athlete in Western New York during his senior year. His baseball talents drew attention from major-league scouts. In 2002, he was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in recognition of his achievements both on and off the field.

Murphy and his wife, Laurie, who also is a Colgate graduate, have been involved in the communities in which they’ve lived. Over the years the couple has donated their time to numerous organizations, including local schools, the United Methodist Church in Hamilton, N.Y., and the First Congregational Church of Evanston, Ill. Also, while in Chicago, Murphy served on the bid committee for the 2016 Olympics, which eventually were awarded to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While at Colgate University, Murphy formed the Hamilton Youth Basketball League and served as its commissioner. Heavily involved in the community while with the Redskins, Murphy was named the team’s “Miller Man of the Year” in 1984 in honor of his work off the field.

In Green Bay, Murphy continues a busy schedule of meeting with fans and shareholders, as well as speaking to a variety of business and community groups. He also has given his time to several community organizations to help their causes, including Big Brothers Big Sisters. Murphy also serves on University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Council of Trustees and co-chaired the school’s most recent capital campaign. Additionally, Murphy serves on the advisory board of the Positive Coaching Alliance, an organization created to transform the culture of youth sports to give all young athletes the opportunity for a positive, character-building experience, as well as on USA Football’s board of directors.

Mark and Laurie are active supporters of foster-care services in Brown County and have had the pleasure of being foster parents in the community. Laurie is involved in a number of national and local organizations whose missions support hunger relief as well as housing and education for underserved populations. In addition, Laurie established “Ladies of Lambeau,” an inclusive group of women who are associated with the Green Bay Packers. The group hosts an annual hands-on event at Lambeau Field which benefits a variety of nonprofit organizations.

Mark and Laurie have four children: Katie, 32, a graduate of Harvard who played basketball for the Crimson and lives in New York City with her husband, Eugene Kornel, and works at Credit Suisse; Emily, 30, a 2008 graduate of Middlebury (Vt.) College with a degree in Chinese who lives in Ann Arbor, Mich., with her husband, Robert Kraynak, and daughter, Louise; Brian, 26, a graduate of Amherst (Mass.) College who played football for the Lord Jeffs and now works for Woven Digital in New York City; and Anna, 24, a graduate of Northwestern University who now works for Korn Ferry in New York City.

Away from work, Mark enjoys playing golf, fishing and participating in various forms of exercise, including bicycling, cross-country skiing and jogging.

 

[bubbaramfan]

When they agreed to the collective bargaining agreement with the players union, the commisioners office had all its teeth taken out of its bite. A different commissioner is not going to make a difference. He won't be able to hand out punishment either without the players union stepping in and taking it to court. Might as well disband the commissioners office and just let the players union run the NFL. They do most of the time now anyway.

 

[LesBaker]

When they agreed to the collective bargaining agreement with the players union, the commisioners office had all its teeth taken out of its bite. A different commissioner is not going to make a difference. He won't be able to hand out punishment either without the players union stepping in and taking it to court. Might as well disband the commissioners office and just let the players union run the NFL. They do most of the time now anyway.

LOL yes........

This is funny to me, how people who really DON'T understand what is happening blame Goodell for SO many things.

It's comical how completely clueless so many fans are about how the nnion, the league and the CBA work. And it's amazing how the league and the commissioner get shit on for doing things they are legally bound to do because they agreed to it WITH the union, meanwhile the union never gets touched.

For instance beating your wife or girlfriend. In or out of an elevator. It's a suspension for TWO GAMES because that's what the union wanted. Yet Goodell gets shit for giving that out.

Also the "Kraft and Goodell are butt buddies", that narrative is MILES from the truth. That friendship got destroyed by Spygate. Yet people all over the country believe that the NFL is in cahoots with the Patriots. Fact is Goodell SMASHED that clab and tried to smash Brady over something as stupid, silly and insignioficant as air pressure. Yet people think they are taking showwers together.

One thing for sure, NFL fans pay little attention to facts. And fans of every team think the refs and league have it in for their team.

I find it mostly amusing, usually entertaining, and occasionally irritating.

 

[-X-]

Report: Patriots’ Spygate cheating was widespread over many years


Posted by Michael David Smith on September 8, 2015, 9:16 AM EDT
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...gate-cheating-was-widespread-over-many-years/


Just days after Tom Brady’s Deflategate suspension was overturned, new attention is being given on the earlier Patriots cheating scandal, known as Spygate.

An ESPN Outside the Lines report, citing interviews with more than 90 sources around the NFL, says that the Spygate cheating lasted “at least 40 games over a period of several seasons from 2000 to 2007,” and that the league never fully investigated all the accusations against the team.

According to the report, the taping of opponents’ signals reached the point where the Patriots had diagrams of the stolen signals that they could use during games.

The report also says that other teams were much more upset about the Patriots’ cheating than they let on, because NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell convinced the rest of the league not to press the issue. Former Rams coach Mike Martz, whose team lost to the Patriots in Belichick’s first Super Bowl, said he was pressured by a “panicked” Goodell to issue a statement saying he was satisfied by the league’s investigation of the Patriots. Martz said he agreed to go along with Goodell’s request to issue a statement backing the league not because he was completely satisfied by the investigation, but because Goodell convinced Martz that a prolonged scandal could badly damage the league.

Anyone who thought the Deflategate ruling was going to end any talk of the Patriots cheating is sorely mistaken. Both Deflategate and Spygate are stories that will have legs.

 

[…..]

This is funny to me......

I find it mostly amusing, usually entertaining, and occasionally irritating.

I'm going to have to co-sign on this.

 

[Stranger]

Report: Patriots’ Spygate cheating was widespread over many years


Posted by Michael David Smith on September 8, 2015, 9:16 AM EDT
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...gate-cheating-was-widespread-over-many-years/


Just days after Tom Brady’s Deflategate suspension was overturned, new attention is being given on the earlier Patriots cheating scandal, known as Spygate.

An ESPN Outside the Lines report, citing interviews with more than 90 sources around the NFL, says that the Spygate cheating lasted “at least 40 games over a period of several seasons from 2000 to 2007,” and that the league never fully investigated all the accusations against the team.

According to the report, the taping of opponents’ signals reached the point where the Patriots had diagrams of the stolen signals that they could use during games.

The report also says that other teams were much more upset about the Patriots’ cheating than they let on, because NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell convinced the rest of the league not to press the issue. Former Rams coach Mike Martz, whose team lost to the Patriots in Belichick’s first Super Bowl, said he was pressured by a “panicked” Goodell to issue a statement saying he was satisfied by the league’s investigation of the Patriots. Martz said he agreed to go along with Goodell’s request to issue a statement backing the league not because he was completely satisfied by the investigation, but because Goodell convinced Martz that a prolonged scandal could badly damage the league.

Anyone who thought the Deflategate ruling was going to end any talk of the Patriots cheating is sorely mistaken. Both Deflategate and Spygate are stories that will have legs.

holy s$%+ .... do I see a huge explosion coming? wow

wow

wow

 

[-X-]

holy s$%+ .... do I see a huge explosion coming? wow

wow

wow

Pretty comprehensive story about it on Mike & Mike.
I'll post the audio after they release it.

 

[VeteranRamFan]

holy s$%+ .... do I see a huge explosion coming? wow

wow

wow

Maybe, just maybe is it possible that the league warned the union to accept the Brady 4 game susp. and let things go or there might be something like this happening? I mean think about it. Back room talk, never really saying exactly what, just hints of something bigger? And the union having blinders on goes forward with the lawsuit and now this.

Folks, this is huge!!! This will bring down the commissioner's office, the E-board, it may even have congress calling for an investigation and the league losing it's tax exempt status.

And what about the Pats? Belicheat will deny, Kraft will deny. They will fall back on the punishment was already handed out, can't do it again (dougle jep). No records would be changed, no asterisk next to any team name in the record books.

What a freaking mess!

 

[-X-]

Just heard, from Seth Wickersham, that "Prior to spygate, we spoke to many low-level employees who admitted that while the visiting team was on the field for pre-game warm-ups, they used to go into the visitor's locker room and swipe the 20-play scripted play sheet and hand it to the coaches, and this was on game days."

 

[drasconis]

Best guess is that the league sure didn't want this to come out...it will burn a lot of people there (Assuming it gets legs)...

Figure it comes from one of the burnt teams (Pit maybe?) that after the whole suspension thing with brady fell apart decided that the only way to get things even was to burn it to the ground - lets be honest if this really went deep (sworn testimony) many heads would roll - league would survive but get a HUGE blackeye. Maybe it ultimately comes back stronger (look at MLB).

 

[Stranger]

I guess Goodhell has lost his power and is not longer able to squash this stuff. This expanded story on Deadspin will make you sick to your stomach. The Goodhell - Martz discussion makes me want to puke...

http://deadspin.com/bombshell-espn-report-the-patriots-were-huge-cheaters-1729286402

Bombshell ESPN Report: The Patriots Were Huge Cheaters And Roger Goodell Covered It Up


Barry Petchesky
Filed to: new england patriots9/08/15 10:20am

I want to hug and kiss this beautiful story from ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham and take it out to a fancy dinner. Splendidly reported and brutally damning of both the New England Patriots and Roger Goodell, it alleges that the Patriots’ Spygate scandal was worse than anyone imagined—and was actively swept under the rug by the commissioner and the NFL.

You should read the story immediately, but the thrust is this—citing interviews with 90 sources in and around football as well as primary documents, ESPN reports that Bill Belichick and the Patriots videotaped opposing teams’ signals from 40 different games from 2000 through 2007. And when the scandal broke, Goodell did everything in his power to protect Robert Kraft, who was one of his strongest supporters and without whom he would not have been named commissioner. The thesis statement in this story is that the cover-up—and if this report is accurate, the league’s actions can’t be called anything else but a cover-up—so rankled other owners that Goodell came down extra-hard on New England and Tom Brady for Ballghazi as “a makeup call.”

The Patriots’ defense for Spygate—when they were caught taping a Jets practice—has always been that it was an honest mistake, that they had misinterpreted the rules. Their track record implies otherwise. Belichick reportedly placed his complex spying program in the hands of Ernie Adams, the Patriots’ mysterious “director of football research.” It began way back in 2000, Belichick’s first year as New England coach, and only became more efficient as time went on.

As the Patriots became a dynasty and Belichick became the first coach to win three Super Bowls in four years, an entire system of covert videotaping was developed and a secret library created. “It got out of control,” a former Patriots assistant coach says. Sources with knowledge of the system say an advance scout would attend the games of upcoming Patriots opponents and assemble a spreadsheet of all the signals and corresponding plays. The scout would give it to Adams, who would spend most of the week in his office with the door closed, matching the notes to the tapes filmed from the sideline. Files were created, organized by opponent and by coach. During games, Walsh later told investigators, the Patriots’ videographers were told to look like media members, to tape over their team logos or turn their sweatshirt inside out, to wear credentials that said Patriots TV or Kraft Productions. The videographers also were provided with excuses for what to tell NFL security if asked what they were doing: Tell them you’re filming the quarterbacks. Or the kickers. Or footage for a team show.

Former Patriots coaches and employees say the videotaping was just the tip of the iceberg.

Several of them acknowledge that during pregame warm-ups, a low-level Patriots employee would sneak into the visiting locker room and steal the play sheet, listing the first 20 or so scripted calls for the opposing team’s offense. (The practice became so notorious that some coaches put out fake play sheets for the Patriots to swipe.) Numerous former employees say the Patriots would have someone rummage through the visiting team hotel for playbooks or scouting reports. Walsh later told investigators that he was once instructed to remove the labels and erase tapes of a Patriots practice because the team had illegally used a player on injured reserve. At Gillette Stadium, the scrambling and jamming of the opponents’ coach-to-quarterback radio line — “small s—-” that many teams do, according to a former Pats assistant coach — occurred so often that one team asked a league official to sit in the coaches’ box during the game and wait for it to happen. Sure enough, on a key third down, the headset went out.

The Patriots’ taping apparently went undetected until 2006, when Packers security caught cameraman Matt Estrella filming illegally. (He claimed he was merely taking scenic shots for “Kraft Productions.”) That offseason, the NFL warned the Patriots in writing. Before the next year’s opener the Jets set up a sting operation, with the assistance of team and NFL security, to catch the Patriots in the act.

They caught Estrella filming, and actively trying to hide his employer.

During the first half, Jets security monitored Estrella, who held a camera and wore a polo shirt with a taped-over Patriots logo under a red media vest that said: NFL PHOTOGRAPHER 138. With the backing of Jets owner Woody Johnson and Tannenbaum, Jets security alerted NFL security, a step Mangini acknowledged publicly later that he never wanted. Shortly before halftime, security encircled and then confronted Estrella. He said he was with “Kraft Productions.”

That’s when the NFL stepped in, and by all accounts, never had any interest in anything other than making it all go away.

On Monday, the day after the game, the tape arrived at NFL headquarters. On Wednesday, Goodell spoke to Belichick over the phone, and the Pats coach assured the commissioner he had misinterpreted the rules and that it was a small mistake that didn’t give the team a significant edge. In this conversation, according to ESPN’s sources, Goodell “did not believe” the Patriots’ explanation, but did not press for details. “Goodell didn’t want to know how many games were taped,” another source said.

On Thursday, the NFL announced the Patriots punishment. The entire official investigation had taken three days.

Privately, the NFL continued to act. The next week the league dispatched three executives, including general counsel Jeff Pash, to Foxborough. There they obtained eight videotapes of opposing teams and a stack of documents containing notes on other teams’ signals. Goodell ordered all the evidence to be destroyed.

This part of the report is unimpeachable—it comes directly from the Patriots’ counsel.

Inside a room accessible only to Belichick and a few others, they found a library of scouting material containing videotapes of opponents’ signals, with detailed notes matching signals to plays for many teams going back seven seasons. Among them were handwritten diagrams of the defensive signals of the Pittsburgh Steelers, including the notes used in the January 2002 AFC Championship Game won by the Patriots 24-17. Yet almost as quickly as the tapes and notes were found, they were destroyed, on Goodell’s orders: League executives stomped the tapes into pieces and shredded the papers inside a Gillette Stadium conference room.

Jeff Pash stomped the tapes!

The next step was to get the controversy to blow over. Coaches and executives from the Steelers (who believed they had been taped prior to their 2002 AFC championship loss) and Eagles (the 2005 Super Bowl) put out public statements denying that the spying had anything to do with the games’ outcomes and supporting the NFL’s investigation. We do not know if they were pressured to do so, but former Rams coach Mike Martz says Roger Goodell called him personally and urged him to do the same regarding the 2002 Super Bowl.

During a five-minute conversation, Martz recalls that the commissioner sounded panicked about Specter’s calls for a wider investigation. Martz also recalls that Goodell asked him to write a statement, saying that he was satisfied with the NFL’s Spygate investigation and was certain the Patriots had not cheated and asking everyone to move on — like leaders of the Steelers and Eagles had done.

“He told me, ‘The league doesn’t need this. We’re asking you to come out with a couple lines exonerating us and saying we did our due diligence,’” says Martz.

Martz believes the statement he gave was later changed by the NFL before being released.

Shown a copy of his statement this past July, Martz was stunned to read several sentences about Walsh that he says he’s certain he did not write. “It shocked me,” he says. “It appears embellished quite a bit — some lines I know I didn’t write. Who changed it? I don’t know.”

With the NFL’s power brokers in lockstep, the league managed to avoid a congressional investigation. It appeared to be the end of things, but, apparently, not in the minds of the other owners.

ESPN’s interviews with owners and executives paint a picture of an NFL as resentful of the Patriots’ special treatment as they were jealous of the team’s onfield success. So when the Patriots were accused of illegally deflating footballs—an overblown scandal if there ever was one—Goodell decided to bring down the hammer. The massive investigation, the unprecedented penalties, the preemptive court filing? All were apparently efforts to assuage other owners sick and tired of the Patriots getting away with things. One NFL owner declared Goodell’s heavy-handed response was his “makeup call.”

Ballghazi looks very different in this context. Not merely the NFL’s usual clownish mishandling, it’s the culmination of 15 years of the Patriots bending and breaking the rules, and of pent-up acrimony accrued by Goodell’s chummy relationship with Kraft. The NFL, attempting to trump up the charges against Tom Brady, relied largely on his destruction of evidence—a tactic, it turns out, with which the league’s investigators had firsthand familiarity.

And after all that, the NFL couldn’t even get it to stick.

The Patriots have issued a statement in response to ESPN’s report. It manages to sound strong and deny nothing.

​

View: https://twitter.com/BenVolin/status/641245183041007616​

 

[-X-]

View: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:13607068


Not copy/pasting the entire story.
You can read it here:

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/13533995/split-nfl-new-england-patriots-apart

 

[LACHAMP46]

Former Rams coach Mike Martz, whose team lost to the Patriots in Belichick’s first Super Bowl, said he was pressured by a “panicked” Goodell to issue a statement saying he was satisfied by the league’s investigation of the Patriots. Martz said he agreed to go along with Goodell’s request to issue a statement backing the league not because he was completely satisfied by the investigation, but because Goodell convinced Martz that a prolonged scandal could badly damage the league.

I'll still believe the league wanted the Patriots to win in 2002 due to 9/11.....Which allowed spygate to happen...in this instance....And if these other reports are true (probably are) they have been cheating much longer than ever imagined with no punishment...whatsoever....why were the tapes destroyed?

 

[CodeMonkey]

The Patriots should have been disbanded from the NFL long ago. That is really the only solution. Otherwise, the entire league is as invalid as the WWF. It only takes one terd to make shitwater.

 

[Stranger]

Ben Volin's twitter feed to littered with tidbits
https://twitter.com/BenVolin

Just look at this one... HUGE...


View: https://twitter.com/BenVolin/status/641253974943907840

 

[Boston Ram]

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/13533995/split-nfl-new-england-patriots-apart

Article is huge. Too long to cut and paste in but must read!