There is an adage that “what you don’t know can’t hurt you,” but for former Carolina Panthers GM Marty Hurney, what he does not know is only driving him crazy.
Hurney was GM of the Panthers when they reached the Super Bowl during the 2003 season and lost to the Patriots 32-29. The Pats beat the Eagles the following year for their third Super Bowl victory in four seasons, cementing them as a dynasty franchise.
We know the Patriots were busted for the “Spygate” scandal in the 2007 season. Now that the team is being scrutinized for potentially deflating footballs, Hurney is left wondering what kind of tricks the Pats pulled during Super Bowl XXXVIII.
“There isn’t a day that goes by since [then] that I haven’t questioned … that there were some things done that might have been beyond the rules that may have given them a three-point advantage,” Hurney said during his radio show on ESPN 730 AM in Charlotte.
“And I can’t prove anything, and that’s why I’m very angry. And the anger has come back over the last couple of days that commissioner Roger Goodell decided to shred all of the evidence after ‘Spygate,’ because I think there were a lot of things in there that would bring closure to a lot of people.”
Hurney says the whole “culture of cheating” makes him suspicious.
“This is about a culture. Is there a culture of cheating at probably what most people look at as the best franchise in the National Football League?”
Hurney also says there were rumors that the Patriots were filming their practices in Houston during the week of the Super Bowl.
“There are people who swear to me that the Patriots taped our practice down in Houston during Super Bowl week,” Hurney said. “I can’t prove it. I don’t know. And I hate talking like this because I feel like a bad loser, but it just gnaws at you and this latest incident brings it back up.”
As much as opponents want to get on the Patriots’ case for potentially cheating, they need to check themselves first. For instance, multiple Panthers starting offensive linemen had steroids ties that season. The Seahawks, who are getting ready to face the Patriots in the Super Bowl, have also have had players tied to PEDs. Maybe we need to keep things in perspective.
Unfortunately for Hurney, his suspicions about the Patriots may never die. Even Marshall Faulk still believes the Patriots cheated in Super Bowl XXXVI.
