Here's what really happened, the only way it makes sense.
1. The Jets blew the whistle on the Patriots for taping their defensive signals. The guy was caught taping from the sidelines, and then taping from the tunnel.
Argument: Per Bellichick they didn't know it was against the rules, that he interpreted it wrong.
Fact: If they didn't know it was wrong, then why was the guy snooping around? Why wouldn't he challenge his ejection out of the stadium? They knew it was against the rules.
2. It blew up in the news, forcing the NFL to investigate the incident.
Argument: Per Goodell, the NFL voluntarily disclosed it to the public, and launched the investigation. There's nothing to hide.
Fact: Wrong. The media got a hold of the incident, didn't come from the NFL voluntarily.
3. The Patriots were required to turn over all tapes and notes by the NFL.
Argument: They turned over all the evidence, so they have nothing to hide.
Fact: They did not turn anything over until 5 days after the initial request. Plenty of time to sort through what they wanted to turn over, and what to shred.
4. Three days after receiving and reviewing the evidence, the NFL promptly destroyed everything.
Argument: Per Goodell, there was nothing suggesting any further wrongdoing or unfair advantage to the Patriots in any of their previous games and seasons. But they did not want other teams to get a hold of the tapes, so they destroyed it all.
Fact: First, if the tapes didn't help the Patriots, why would you care if anyone else got a hold of it? And why couldn't they just lock it up somewhere, digitize all evidence for ease of storage if necessary, for future reference? In any other public and/or private organizations, documentation for up to 7 years is required. Not wanting anyone else to have it is a terrible excuse. The real reason they destroyed it is because the Patriots gave them evidence of not only themselves cheating, but a lot of other teams cheating, through all of their 3 SuperBowls as well as other teams' SBs. Goodell saw this and went holy crap, if this comes out we're all doomed. It's easier to apologize for destroying the evidence than to apologize for destroying the league. So now when people ask him questions about the tapes, they can say whatever was on the tapes they want.
5. Patriot suckups and apologists for the league, including Solomon Wilcot of Sirius NFL Radio continue to defend the Patriots for having done nothing wrong, and all those wins were legit, because we can't prove otherwise. Well duh! That's why they destroyed the evidence! And if they really had any unfair advantage in any of those games, you bet your ass they could affect the outcome. Brady could know what the defense was doing, and made plays that exploited that particular defensive play. It is all connected.
At this point there isn't much we can do about it. They aren't going to take away people's SuperBowl rings, or put astericks next to their records. The most the league would do is force Bellichick out of the game, and take away more draft picks. But the damage is done. Any further inquiry is solely for our satisfaction of our curiosity and need for justice.
1. The Jets blew the whistle on the Patriots for taping their defensive signals. The guy was caught taping from the sidelines, and then taping from the tunnel.
Argument: Per Bellichick they didn't know it was against the rules, that he interpreted it wrong.
Fact: If they didn't know it was wrong, then why was the guy snooping around? Why wouldn't he challenge his ejection out of the stadium? They knew it was against the rules.
2. It blew up in the news, forcing the NFL to investigate the incident.
Argument: Per Goodell, the NFL voluntarily disclosed it to the public, and launched the investigation. There's nothing to hide.
Fact: Wrong. The media got a hold of the incident, didn't come from the NFL voluntarily.
3. The Patriots were required to turn over all tapes and notes by the NFL.
Argument: They turned over all the evidence, so they have nothing to hide.
Fact: They did not turn anything over until 5 days after the initial request. Plenty of time to sort through what they wanted to turn over, and what to shred.
4. Three days after receiving and reviewing the evidence, the NFL promptly destroyed everything.
Argument: Per Goodell, there was nothing suggesting any further wrongdoing or unfair advantage to the Patriots in any of their previous games and seasons. But they did not want other teams to get a hold of the tapes, so they destroyed it all.
Fact: First, if the tapes didn't help the Patriots, why would you care if anyone else got a hold of it? And why couldn't they just lock it up somewhere, digitize all evidence for ease of storage if necessary, for future reference? In any other public and/or private organizations, documentation for up to 7 years is required. Not wanting anyone else to have it is a terrible excuse. The real reason they destroyed it is because the Patriots gave them evidence of not only themselves cheating, but a lot of other teams cheating, through all of their 3 SuperBowls as well as other teams' SBs. Goodell saw this and went holy crap, if this comes out we're all doomed. It's easier to apologize for destroying the evidence than to apologize for destroying the league. So now when people ask him questions about the tapes, they can say whatever was on the tapes they want.
5. Patriot suckups and apologists for the league, including Solomon Wilcot of Sirius NFL Radio continue to defend the Patriots for having done nothing wrong, and all those wins were legit, because we can't prove otherwise. Well duh! That's why they destroyed the evidence! And if they really had any unfair advantage in any of those games, you bet your ass they could affect the outcome. Brady could know what the defense was doing, and made plays that exploited that particular defensive play. It is all connected.
At this point there isn't much we can do about it. They aren't going to take away people's SuperBowl rings, or put astericks next to their records. The most the league would do is force Bellichick out of the game, and take away more draft picks. But the damage is done. Any further inquiry is solely for our satisfaction of our curiosity and need for justice.
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