Goodell Deceived By Belichick’s Spygate Assurances

Does NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hold a grudge? It seems so. In an interview this week with Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, Goodell states he was deceived by Patriots coach Bill Belichick assurance that he would tell his side of the Spygate controversy that occurred back in 2007.

If you don’t remember, the Spygate controversy refers to an incident in the 2007 NFL season when the New England Patriots were disciplined by the National Football League (NFL) for videotaping New York Jets’ defensive coaches’ signals during a September 9, 2007 game from a sideline location.

This act was deemed a violation of league rules by Commissioner Roger Goodell. After an investigation, the NFL fined Patriots head coach Bill Belichick $500,000 for his role in the incident, fined the Patriots $250,000, and docked the team their original first-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft.

And according to Goodell, Belichick was supposed to publicly apologize for his role in the scandal and address it head on with the media.

The coach, however, strongly disagreed that he made any assurances to publicly air his side of the story. Instead, he issued a statement about his regret and declined to answer questions when asked in a public forum.

“I was given assurances that (Belichick) would tell his side of the story,” Goodell told Peter King. “He went out and stonewalled the press. I feel like I was deceived.”

Belichick has a different story. He told SI, “I did not make any assurances about thoroughly discussing the subject publicly. I said I would address it following the league’s review. I then did that in a way I thought was appropriate. I don’t think that was deceptive.”

I wonder why Goodell is bringing this issue up. I mean the controversy occurred 3 years ago. It’s a surprising statement considering Bill Belichick was named the Associated Press NFL coach of the year for 2010 earlier this week.

There’s got to be more to this story. I guess, in time, we will all find out what that is.

Here is the complete Peter King – Roger Goodell interview.

sources: si.com, comcast.com, wikipedia.com