By Michael McCarthy, USA TODAY
Here's the last Spygate TV interview I'd like to see: New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick before the U.S. Congress.
I'm as sick of Spygate as most fans. Yes, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) has an ax to grind with the Patriots. Getting Congress involved is usually a bad idea. Remember the posturing during the Roger Clemens hearing? But until his sit-down with Armen Keteyian on the CBS Evening News on Friday night, Belichick has mostly blown off Spygate questions. It would be tougher to get away with evasive answers to Congress.
Kudos to Keteyian for getting Belichick to admit he made a "mistake" not checking if their activities were OK after the league sent out a 2006 memo reminding teams that videotaping was prohibited. "I was wrong. And we were penalized for it," he said during the extended interview. Belichick also attacked former video assistant Matt Walsh as a glorified coffee boy pushing an "agenda."
But Belichick also told Keteyian during the full interview they thought other teams were doing the same thing. Really? Like who? If taping coaching signals was of little value, why did he tell Keteyian his team took pains to protect their own?
Belichick told Keteyian he "can't control what other people think out there." But he should have opened up sooner rather than stonewalling. It may not be fair to him, and it's certainly not fair to Patriots players or fans, but he may have already lost the battle for public opinion.
A trip to Capitol Hill can leave a reputation in tatters. Just ask Clemens and Mark McGwire. But we may never know what did, or didn't happen, until he's questioned by a body that can demand answers.
Here's the last Spygate TV interview I'd like to see: New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick before the U.S. Congress.
I'm as sick of Spygate as most fans. Yes, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) has an ax to grind with the Patriots. Getting Congress involved is usually a bad idea. Remember the posturing during the Roger Clemens hearing? But until his sit-down with Armen Keteyian on the CBS Evening News on Friday night, Belichick has mostly blown off Spygate questions. It would be tougher to get away with evasive answers to Congress.
Kudos to Keteyian for getting Belichick to admit he made a "mistake" not checking if their activities were OK after the league sent out a 2006 memo reminding teams that videotaping was prohibited. "I was wrong. And we were penalized for it," he said during the extended interview. Belichick also attacked former video assistant Matt Walsh as a glorified coffee boy pushing an "agenda."
But Belichick also told Keteyian during the full interview they thought other teams were doing the same thing. Really? Like who? If taping coaching signals was of little value, why did he tell Keteyian his team took pains to protect their own?
Belichick told Keteyian he "can't control what other people think out there." But he should have opened up sooner rather than stonewalling. It may not be fair to him, and it's certainly not fair to Patriots players or fans, but he may have already lost the battle for public opinion.
A trip to Capitol Hill can leave a reputation in tatters. Just ask Clemens and Mark McGwire. But we may never know what did, or didn't happen, until he's questioned by a body that can demand answers.