Newspaper apologizes to Patriots
Posted: Wednesday May 14, 2008 05:08AM ET
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell found no evidence that the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough practice before Super Bowl XXXVI was filmed by the Patriots, as the Boston Herald reported Feb. 2, citing an anonymous source. In today's editions, the Herald acknowledged its error and issued a front-page apology for running the story without adequate verification. The apology, a three-paragraph story in the Sports section teased with huge headlines on the front and back pages, said: On Feb. 2, 2008, the Boston Herald reported that a member of the New England Patriots' video staff taped the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI. While the Boston Herald based its Feb. 2, 2008 report on sources that it believed to be credible, we now know that this report was false, and that no tape of the walkthrough ever existed. Prior to the publication of its Feb. 2, 2008, article, the Boston Herald neither possessed nor viewed a tape of the Rams' walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI, nor did we speak to anyone who had. We should not have published the allegation in the absence of firmer verification. The Boston Herald regrets the damage done to the team by the publication of the allegation, and sincerely apologizes to its readers and to the New England Patriots' owners, players, employees, and fans for our error.
Bill Belichick, AP
Comments (410)
Man one person pops the balloon. Sorta like Clemens..... Anyway the Patriots lost the biggest game ever in the history of the NFL.
Bond 007 | 05/14/08, 05:12 AM
Report Offensive CommentThey were too busy scalping tickets to get the equipment hooked up in time. Just kiddnig...
Insane Hussein | 05/14/08, 05:49 AM
Report Offensive CommentThe Patriots cheated.....everbody knows that. Shameless Bostonians!!!!!
spanky norman | 05/14/08, 06:33 AM
Report Offensive CommentHere you go KP. You've been calling this one. THey are on their knees begging to get back in.
Go Boys!! Hooah!! | 05/14/08, 06:42 AM
Report Offensive CommentHerald apologizing that the Commish is covering for the Patriots. Thats so sad. If there is no rams walkthrough. Then where did the story come from? where there is smoke there is fire.
Whalers | 05/14/08, 06:59 AM
Report Offensive CommentNot going to matter - Unless they fire Tomase, and his editor Hank, the public will not let this go up here.
They were irresponsible and unethical in printing that story and prayed now for months it would be true.
Thats not news journalism, its tabloid journalism.
Any credibility that had was shot to hell Feb 3rd.
KPKahder-Dead Ponies Kick **** | 05/14/08, 07:06 AM
Report Offensive CommentHerald apologizing that the Commish is covering for the Patriots. Thats so sad. If there is no rams walkthrough. Then where did the story come from? where there is smoke there is fire.
Whalers | 05/14/08, 06:59 AM
Whalers. Stop hating for just a minute and try and see the world as it really is. Tomase is a big fat pork chop who has written a number of stories that ended up untrue. Same with their gossip columnists at the Inside Track. The Herald prints more retractions a year than the NY Post and THAT says alot .
You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about and yet, you continue to speak.
Im sick of the whining coverup accusations.
Unless you have some hard proof. STFU ?
KPKahder-Dead Ponies Kick **** | 05/14/08, 07:09 AM
Report Offensive CommentHope the reporter gets busted down to covering snotty nose society kid's birthday partys............and Barney fell into the pool.
jackman..! | 05/14/08, 07:32 AM
Report Offensive CommentHow long before Tomase is demoted to writing the Herald's classified ads and obits?
no name at all | 05/14/08, 07:39 AM
Report Offensive CommentThe Boston Herald have egg on their faces. They should be a shamed of themseleves. But bottom line in all this is the Patriots cheated the sport.And their 16-0 regular season in 2007 will be forgotten because they lost in the Super Bowl.
YDT8523 | 05/14/08, 07:42 AM
Report Offensive CommentThe Patriots cheated.....everbody knows that. Shameless Bostonians!!!!!
fourthplaceyankees | 05/14/08, 06:33 AM
HAHAHAHAAHA
Hypocrite
This from a YANKEES FAN ???
KPKahder-Dead Ponies Kick **** | 05/14/08, 07:46 AM
Report Offensive CommentAll this proves is that the Herald went to press with a false story.
It exonerates the Patriots on the subject of taping a walk through by the Chargers before the Superbowl.
It DOES NOT exonerate them on the charges of cheating brought by Commissioner Goodell. They admitted to those and paid fines for them....
ghostofthebabe | 05/14/08, 07:56 AM
Report Offensive Commentnice suit bill..
pw | 05/14/08, 07:57 AM
Report Offensive CommentWill this ever end... it is over... move on.
drj0514 | 05/14/08, 08:00 AM
Report Offensive CommentThe Boston Herald is starting to sound like the NY Times... reporting on stuff in hopes the facts will support the story... instead of the story being based off the facts
YCMFord | 05/14/08, 08:02 AM
Report Offensive CommentHerald apologizing that the Commish is covering for the Patriots. Thats so sad. If there is no rams walkthrough. Then where did the story come from? where there is smoke there is fire.
Whalers | 05/14/08, 06:59 AM
Oh please whalers, get over yourself already. This whole thing was blown WAY out out proportion. The Herald was, is, and always will be a rag.
nflyoubet | 05/14/08, 08:10 AM
Report Offensive CommentThe commish isn't covering for anybody, he's dealing with this on a reality level. Why can't everybody else? Man up for Gods sake and move on!
nflyoubet | 05/14/08, 08:11 AM
Report Offensive CommentIts '72 Fins day today, right?
-Loki- | 05/14/08, 08:16 AM
Report Offensive CommentHerald apologizing that the Commish is covering for the Patriots. Thats so sad. If there is no rams walkthrough. Then where did the story come from? where there is smoke there is fire.
Whalers | 05/14/08, 06:59 AM
by your logic., if I was to say you ****, then there must be some truth to it, right? Otherwise, where would the info come from....there's no way that some Rams fan couldn't have speculated without evidence that the underdog won that SB by cheating in an attempt to rationalize why their favored team lost...
-Loki- | 05/14/08, 08:20 AM
Report Offensive CommentWow, Shula seems to be sticking to the NutriSystem plan.
no name at all | 05/14/08, 08:20 AM
Report Offensive CommentAdd a comment
Remember to keep it clean. Bad words will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed. More Guidelines