Will Patriots Owner Bob Kraft Sue the Boston Herald Over Pre-Super Bowl Spygate Story? Posted Feb 25th 2008 12:19PM by Michael David Smith Filed under: Patriots, NFL Media Watch, Boston http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2008...bob-kraft-sue-the-boston-herald-over-pre-sup/ On Saturday, February 2, the day before the Super Bowl, the Boston Herald ran a story by John Tomase headlined, "Source: Pats employee filmed Rams." As every football fan knows, that story set off a firestorm in the NFL world, with allegations about a Patriots employee taping the Rams' final walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI. There's talk of lawsuits, Senate hearings and NFL sanctions, all emanating from that one Boston Herald story. But was the story accurate? In his Monday Morning Quarterback column, Peter King of Sports Illustrated suggests today that the story wasn't accurate. King thinks that former Patriots employee Matt Walsh probably doesn't have any evidence at all to show that the Patriots taped the Rams, and King writes, "All we can do is speculate on that right now, but I, for one, believe that tape does not exist." And then King goes further than that: But if that's all Walsh has, I'll tell you who's in trouble -- the Boston Herald. I'd be surprised if New England owner Bob Kraft doesn't sue the pants off the paper, which reported the Patriots videotaped the Rams' walk through the day before Super Bowl XXXVI, for damaging his brand if the story is not true. A libel lawsuit brought by the Patriots against the Herald would be a shocking turn of events, but I think King is off-base on this one. Winning a libel lawsuit is very difficult, and even if it turns out that the Patriots didn't tape the Rams, to win a suit against the Herald the Patriots would need to prove that the Herald knew that the story was wrong at the time it published it. Furthermore, I find it hard to believe that the Patriots would want to see this matter brought to court for the simple reason that it would open up all sorts of people to having to tell their side of this under oath. Does Kraft really want the Herald's lawyers to be able to grill Bill Belichick or Tom Brady about every practice related to taping opposing defenses? Of course he doesn't. Which is why there's no way Kraft is going to sue the Herald, even if that story was as wrong as King suggests it was. _________________________________________________________________ Kings article if anyone is interested. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/peter_king/02/24/combine/index.html 1. Spygate is not going away. Bill Belichick is not here, though that's not such big news; he didn't come a year ago. But on all sides, you feel the hum of Spygate, and rumors are everywhere. In general, this situation reminds me of a murder trial in a small town and a judge trying to seat a jury for it. Getting a fair trial in this league right now is tough. You can't find 12 people in the league who don't have a strong opinion on this, and most of those opinions are very anti-Patriot. The consensus is there's too much smoke around the story for it to either be false or for it to go away. That's why it's so important for the league to get Walsh to talk as soon as possible, so this story, which has amazed top league officials with its legs, can be vetted for good, one way or the other. Over the weekend, I spoke with former Rams coach Mike Martz about the allegation that the Patriots videotaped St. Louis' walk through practice the day before Super Bowl XXXVI. He says the Ram practice that day consisted of the offense running its red-zone plays at half speed. I hear that Martz and other Ram people are privately talking much tougher, and I think it's possible, if there is tape of the walk through, the Rams may press the league to have the outcome of the game overturned. It's crucial for the Patriots -- and for Belichick's future as a head coach in the league -- that former New England video assistant Matt Walsh not have a tape of that practice. All we can do is speculate on that right now, but I, for one, believe that tape does not exist. I believe it's more likely Walsh has some tapes of the Patriots videotaping opposing signals. That's not going to get the Patriots, or Belichick, in more trouble. The Pats have already been sanctioned for that. But if that's all Walsh has, I'll tell you who's in trouble -- the Boston Herald. I'd be surprised if New England owner Bob Kraft doesn't sue the pants off the paper, which reported the Patriots videotaped the Rams' walk through the day before Super Bowl XXXVI, for damaging his brand if the story is not true. Finally, I'm like every other media type when it comes to the Patriots' curious hire the other day of two-time NFL head coach Dom Capers as a defensive assistant. Belichick's track record is not to hire head-coaching retreads; usually he takes on young coaches and trains them in his system. Could he, or the team, be lining up a replacement for him if he's suspended or fired because of Spygate in the future? I don't buy it. Belichick has control over his coaching staff, and I doubt he'd be thinking about hiring his heir in the middle of this maelstrom.
I hope he does , then a counter suit from the Herald. War in Boston. Whilst all this goes on Belicheat melts and slides down a drain and morphs somewheres else in the murky underworld.
IMO Smith is right and King is once again just a New England apologist. There is no way that Kraft would be stupid enough to sue the Herald - the paper could live off what would come out in the depositions for years. In any event, as Smith says, unless the Herald knew that Walsh's story was untrue, there's nothing to sue about.
Of course King is going to be a Cheatriots apologist. He has been suckling upon the weeping pustules of New England's collective dingus for years. Anyone would be defensive when that black and malignant ichor has been their long-time primary food. Walsh will eventually be paid off -- if he hasn't been already. If someone is willing to engage in obviously unethical business practices (cheating), I don't see why excepting a bribe would be beneath him.
Not only that but if he does sue, the Herald will begin to write negative articles on every aspect of the team from how they screwed up the draft to how poorly they treat their fans etc. Any negative angle will be taken on all events. Nothing quite like having a major newspaper siding totally against you. :wink:
