Laptopgate - Charlie Weis

September 20th, 2008 filed in Football

Charlie Weis may be at it again. During Notre Dame’s 23-7 loss to Michigan State today, a laptop was seized from Notre Dame’s coaching box. Michigan State asked a liaison to the officials to remove the laptop after noticing one being used by the Fighting Irish. The liaison then took the laptop out of their coaching box during a break in the first half. Weis was then approached by officials about the laptop, who then contacted his coaching staff to find out what was going on.

NCAA football rules bylaw 1-4-9a states, in part, that “motion pictures, any type of film, facsimile machines, videotapes, photographs, writing-transmission machines and computers may not be used by coaches or for coaching purposes anytime during the game or between periods.”

The Associated Press reports :

“The first thought you have is, `Are they tracking tendencies or other data,’” Lewandowski said. “You cannot use that type of resource in the coaching box. That’s just like you can’t have a replay monitor.” Weis said he told the officials that he wasn’t trying to do something improper while walking off the field at halftime. “The last thing I ever want to do is lie,” he said.

Lewandowski said there was no question the laptop inside the Notre Dame box was on and being used. The World of Isaac points out previous incidents of lying and cheating on the part of Weis, and throws out this gem, “I fully expect to see Matt Walsh trolling the sidelines at the next ND home game,” a reference to the now infamous Spygate scandal for which Charlie Weis was a participant.

Charlie Weis and Notre Dame did NOT cheat
Billy Beater

I’d love to say they BEAT Michigan State, but that wasn’t the case. I can’t believe they are being accused of cheating in a game that they didn’t even win. There is a simple explanation that has been given for what happened in this instance. There was an intern with a laptop in the coaching box. He didn’t realize it was against the rules, and once he was informed, it was no longer in use. There was no intent to use the technology improperly and no advantage was gained. This is a non-issue and everyone should move on.

Charlie Weis and Notre Dame CHEATed
Chester Cheater

The fact that they lost makes this entire situation even more humorous. The team cheats and they still can’t get a win. Charlie Weis has a history of lying and cheating, as mentioned in the article. I don’t think interns for a national program such as Notre Dame take a dump without being told to. If that kid brought a laptop into the box and was using it during the game, then someone on the coaching staff told him to. Anything the coaching staff does directly reflects on the head coach. Just ask Bill Belichik how he feels about paying a $500,000 fine for Spygate. He didn’t hold the camera, but he is responsible. Just like Charlie Weis is responsible for the cheating that took place under his watch against Michigan State.

What do you think, did Charlie Weis and Notre Dame CHEAT?