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Ga. Force player sues Patriots
Gary was member of Rams who lost to New England in Super Bowl XXXVI

By STAFF and WIRE REPORTS

Published on: 02/15/08

A class action lawsuit filed Friday on behalf of Georgia Force player Willie Gary — formerly of the St. Louis Rams — seeks millions of dollars in damages from the New England Patriots for their alleged videotaping of a Rams' walk-through before Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002.

The Patriots upset the heavily-favored Rams 20-17 in the Superdome.

The $100 million suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New Orleans, names the Patriots, team owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichik.

Through a Force spokesman, Gary on Friday declined to comment, citing his attorney's advice.

The Valdosta native played at Kentucky, then signed with the Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He played in seven games for the NFC champs.

Now in his sixth year with the Force, Gary is a hard-hitting defensive back who leads the team with 312 career tackles.

The suit says the defendants illegally videotaped the walk-through "for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage in the game." It claims the Patriots engaged in fraud, racketeering, breach of contract and were in violation of Louisiana's unfair trade practices and consumer protection act.

The suit seeks restitution for Rams players, coaches, staff, the 72,922 fans who attended the game, and owners of Rams seat licenses at the time.

I saw this on the wire yesterday and almost posted it, but had second thoughts.

I was thinking and asking myself what's the purpose? Has WG became an attention whore and what does he expect to gain?

Or is there any gain to begin with? I mean besides the attention. What he attempting?? To have the record erased from the books all together?

The Pats did nothing no other teams do during the normal season. That fact has been expressed, pointed out and proven in many many articles written and sports shows across the nation.

The one thing they did do was get caught.

What's done is done and nothing can or will change it, however, the energy would be better spent on ensuring it doesn't occur again in the future.

Millions will be spent defending this suit which is even more reason if we had "loser pays" laws, cases like this would never be filed.

Hopefully this will be dismissed as a frivilous case. It's merely an effort at another entitlement minded money grab so why not pick on the current "evil" team New England Patriots. Sheesh. Talk about crying over spilt milk.

Maybe Willie looked at the other DB's in camp and figured he might need a new way to earn some money :)

And that attitude is why we should have loser pays!!!

The $100 million suit 6u6e56n -- Willie you were not that good, they still would have cut you even if they did not tape the defense. :D

Please don't take it out on Willie G. The lawsuit was presented to all players on the Rams and he was just the first to sign. It was presented to him, not the other way around. His thought was "Well hell I can't lose anything..." So, please don't let this change your opinion of him!

Hey! Hey! You made it on the board! Woo hoo!

Sorry about the WG comments. It's just how it comes across with his name plastered all over the front of that CLASS ACTION suit. If it had been someone else to sign it first then they'd be taking the heat.

What Kit said. If you own a vehicle, have any kind of insurance, have ever been on a plane, etc., you've probably received some sort of class-action lawsuit/settlement deal in the mail. I'm sure that's all this was.

Granted, the first thing I thought when I saw it was "wow, you get Gary Martin Hays as a sponsor for five minutes and everyone's filing lawsuits!" :)

I saw this article the other day and it surprised me. Even if many other teams in the NFL do the same thing as the Patriots, they still were the ones who got caught. Same with steroids in baseball, whoever is caught should be punished (although we know many are getting away with it).

Even with that being said, I think this case will fall through. It just seems like a lot to fight for over this scandal that's going to be dropped and forgotten about.

Don't worry, that will not have anything to do with that. :D

Welcome to the boards, now we have to watch ourselves the Boss is in town. We still miss you and that Buckeye.

Heeeyyy Tim!! Yeah I know your opinion is a little skewed nr6

Thanks for the welcome. I miss you guys too...

I for one do not blame Willie Gary a bit for filing.

Same here.

If I watched the game on TV, can I get my name on the lawsuit too? bhjk,tt

I had a chance to speak to WG at fan appreciation day, he was a very nice person and treated my 10 yr son like he was the one wearing the uniform. WG has two fans here.

Actually, The Force should be proud of the way all of their players acted last Thurs. My son still hasnt stopped talking about the players. He was asked a math question by one player to get his autograph and another player gave him his gloves. Coach P even signed his football.

First class all the way!!!

/ca

I hope for your son's sake it wasn't Carl Morris! He went to Harvard! He probably knows mathematical theories I can't even pronounce! :)