NFL Patriots ‘Spygate’ Has Hawaii Link

by Ryan Kawailani Ozawa · Published February 1, 2008 · Updated February 1, 2008

With Superbowl XLII mere hours away, a Maui man is emerging as a key player in the ongoing ‘Spygate’ controversy swirling around the New England Patriots.

The Patriots, who square off against the New York Giants on Sunday, were fined by the NFL in September after they were caught videotaping the defensive signals used by an opposing team. For many, the incident cast a cloud of doubt over the team’s unprecedented winning streak just as they are poised to make NFL history. Just last week, Sen. Arlen Specter suggested taking another look at the case.

Matt Walsh, 31, is an “Assistant Golf Professional” at Kaanapali Golf Resort. But in 2002, he worked for the Patriots on its video team. (They won the Superbowl that year.) And while he’s hesitant about making any direct claims of cheating and asserting that he has evidence of such, he comes awfully close in an interview with ESPN.com.

“I’d use it if they came after me,” Walsh says at one point. “The last thing I need is for people to make a case against me.”

Walsh told ESPN.com that he probably doesn’t have much more to lose than the season tickets he still gets from the Patriots. But with a wife and an infant son, and a confidentiality agreement possibly still in effect, he said he’s not in a hurry to get involved.

“Really, I just [have] no incentive to really talk to anybody, no reason to do it. For me, personally, I haven’t really been able to see the gain in doing it.”