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And now for another twist in the bountygate scandal! Remember when we told you that Anthony Hargrove had something important to say at 3 p.m. ET? He wasn't joking. He says that the audio of a man who is allegedly him saying "Bobby, give me my money" to Bobby McCray after Brett Favre sustained an injury in the now infamous NFC Championship game wasn't actually him.
Suspended DT Anthony Hargrove claims the audio released Monday of him saying, "Bobby, give me my money," was not his voice.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 19, 2012
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports obtained the full text of Hargrove's statement, which you can read here. Here's an excerpt from that statement, where he claims that it was not his voice on the tape.
The NFL has a sideline shot of our defense gathered around Joe Vitt discussing what we might should expect if the backup quarterback comes into the game. It shows me off to the side with some of our other defensive linemen on the bench with their backs to the camera. The final snippet has an arrow pointed at me with the caption indicating that I had said, "give me my money."
Here's the problem with that. It wasn't me. That's right. The NFL got their evidence all wrong. In their rush to convict me, they made a very serious error. Is it intentional? I don't know. But one thing I do know with absolute certainty...it...was...not...me!
If Hargrove's statement is true and the NFL cannot prove that the man saying "give me my money" on the tape they used as evidence was in fact Hargrove, there's going to be a serious hole in their case against him. Obviously, there are going to be more developments in the near future, but I wanted to pass along what we know at the moment. Hargrove is accusing the NFL of either lying or making a serious error, and we're all awaiting their response.