On Wednesday, May 14, the Boston Herald apologized to the New England Patriots after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that there was no evidence that the Pats had videotaped the St. Louis Rams walk-through prior to the 2002 Super Bowl.
The Boston Herald first published the story on February 2, 2008, one day prior to the Patriotsā 17- 14 Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants. Herald reporter John Tomase, who broke the story, admitted in an article on Friday, āFirst and foremost, this is about a writer breaking one of the cardinal rules of journalism. I failed to keep challenging what I had been told.
The day after the newspaper apologized for the story, Patriotsā owner Bob Kraft said, āI must compliment the Boston Herald for doing what is unprecedented in terms of recognizing their error in a major way,ā He added, āIām really delighted with that, but I wish it never happened.ā
However, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter continues to call for an independent investigation of āSpygateā. Specter, a Philadelphia Eagles fan, has questioned Roger Goodellās handling of āSpygateā, in which the Patriotsā inappropriately taped a regular season game against the New York Jets. New England coach Bill Belichick and the Patriot organization were fined for breaking NFL rules regarding the taping of games.